Broken Wings
by cowgirlangel95
Summary: *AU*: Crowded hallways are the loneliest places for Riley Matthews. All she has is her best friend, Maya. And sometimes things get in the way from them talking. All Riley wants is to be able to talk to someone about her past. So what happens when a new student comes? Will he be able to help? Set during senior year, eventual Riley/ Lucas
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hey all! So here's the beginning of my latest multi chapter fic. This AU is a bit on the personal side with me, and I thought that if certain things happened, Riley would feel similar to how I did. What Riley goes through here is a mixture of what I experienced in high school and some fiction, so if there's any resemblance to any other fics I apologize; I'm only trying to mirror most of what I've gone through. This fic will feature mostly Riley, Lucas, and Maya. Not so much Farkle…sorry about that, guys. Out of the chapters I've written so far he's only in a few, but I'm trying to work on that. I'm probably going to update this about once a week, so please don't beg me to update sooner. I'll update when I'll update. I love you guys, but I have other things that come first, unfortunately. Alright, without further ado, chapter 1!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters to Girl Meets World, only the plot line**_

_Another day in these halls, another day feeling so lost and utterly alone_, Riley thought as she walked into John Quincy Adams High School alongside her best friend, Maya. Maya was one of the few people Riley could really talk to about what was going on in her life, but they didn't have much time to hang out during school. All they had was the preparation period before classes began, homeroom, and lunch every other day if Maya could get out of study hall.

The two friends headed to their lockers, picked up the books they needed for first period, and headed to their spot by near the gym. They only had a couple of minutes before they needed to head to class, but that didn't stop them from spending as much time as they could together. Not too long after they sat down on the floor, a lanky young man came rushing up towards them and plopped himself right next to Maya.

"Hello lady," he said as he looked into Maya's eyes. When Riley saw Farkle, a wave of sadness overcame her. No matter what she did to ignore it, it always found a way to come back at the worst times. But like every time this happened, Riley pushed her emotions farther down into the figurative box that they belonged in, locked it for now, and faked a smile.

Maya rolled her eyes, "Hi Farkle." Maya had been friends with Farkle for a long time. Riley never really got to know him like Maya did. Sure, she considered him a friend, but she wouldn't be as close to him like Maya was. Riley had a sneaking suspicion that it was because Maya had a crush on him. She could never get Maya to admit it though. Maya would always say that being with a nerd like him would ruin her reputation. But Riley knew Maya; she could see it in her best friend's eyes that she liked him. Whether or not Maya would do anything about it was a different story.

"So, what are you two lovely ladies doing later tonight?"

"Hanging out at Riley's house," Maya responded, knowing Farkle wanted to hang out with her later. She did enjoy spending time with him, but time with Riley always came first. Riley was like the sister she never had (okay, that wasn't fully true; they considered themselves to be sisters, despite not being related by blood), and always did her best to find time to spend with her.

Farkle nodded slowly, slightly disappointed in Maya's response, as the warning bell rang. "Well, I'll be seeing you two later!" he said just before he hopped up and bounded down the hallway for his first class.

Riley shook her head as she and Maya rose to their feet. "Do you think he'll ever calm down one of these days?" Riley asked.

Maya shrugged as they headed down the hallway. "Maybe, who knows with him?"

Riley paused before saying, "You didn't have to say that, Maya."

Maya gave Riley a questioning look. "Say what?"

"That we're hanging out later. All we're doing is talking over Skype; we're not exactly hanging out."

Maya sighed. "Yeah, so? It's still technically hanging out to me even if my mom won't let me come over on a school night."

Riley shrugged as they approached her study hall. "I'll see you during homeroom."

"See ya then, my little plant," Maya responded as she continued down the hallway.

Riley stepped inside the classroom and sighed. _Whoever thought having study hall was a good idea must be an idiot,_ she thought as she took her usual seat near the front of the classroom. She wished that she could have done her own schedule. All the students were allowed to do was pick the classes they wanted to take, and then their counselors took it from there. If anything, Riley wanted a study hall at the end of the day so she could get as much work done before heading home. But that wasn't the case, so Riley dealt with what she had and made the best of the situation.

Since all of her homework was done, Riley reached into her bag and pulled out a book, _The Count of Monte Cristo._ It was one of the books they had read in English class two years ago. Usually, Riley never cared for the books that the English teachers chose, most of them were rather dull in her opinion. But this one turned out to be one of her favorite books ever. Okay, that may have been a stretch considering all the books she owned and loved, but it was pretty close. She wished that they had read the full version in class, but they didn't have the time. When she told her dad that she loved it so much, he surprised her the next Christmas by getting her the full version of the book. Now, she was able to read the bits that were removed from the school's version.

Riley opened her book and began to read. She was towards the end of the book at one of her favorite parts: the trial of Viscount Andrea Cavalcanti, or as he's about to be revealed: Benedetto, son of Villefort. Once her eyes hit the page, it was like she was in a different world. No longer was she in the classroom, she was in the courtroom watching the trial unfold and seeing how it affected each of the main characters.

It didn't seem like the entire eighty minutes had already passed, but the bell rang and dismissed everyone to homeroom. Riley stayed seated for a couple minutes longer and finished the final chapter before she went and met Maya in the library. Once she was finished, Riley snapped the book shut, picked up her bag, and headed out of the room.

When she entered the library, she found Maya seated atop many of the bean bag chairs that the library had for the students. Riley walked up alongside the bean bag mountain and plopped herself right next to her best friend.

Maya held a few quarters in front of Riley's face. "Coca?" she asked.

Riley shook her head. "No, not today."

Maya placed the money back in her pocket and gave her friend a concerning look. "What's wrong with my plant? Whenever she dismisses chocolate there has to be something wrong."

"Nothing that you don't know already. Besides, I'd rather talk about it over Skype than here."

Maya wrapped her arms around Riley and nodded. "That's understandable. I wouldn't want to talk about it here either."

"It's just when Farkle came to see you earlier, it reminded me of it."

Maya's shoulders drooped slightly. "You could have told me that, I would have told him to scram."

Riley shook her head. "No, I couldn't have. He's one of your friends. You have the right to spend time with them too instead of hanging out with me all the time."

"But you shouldn't have to keep all those feelings bottled up all the time."

Riley shrugged. "I don't. I have you to talk to and my books to read."

Maya nodded. "I know you do. Promise you'll tell me what you're feeling during our chat tonight?"

Her best friend sighed as the bell rang. "Don't worry," Riley said. "I will."

Maya smiled. "Good, I'll see you then."

* * *

Riley sat at the end of the lunch table, another book in hand, trying to ignore the conversations that were being carried out throughout the group of friends. Their words were filled with inappropriate jokes, curses, and gossip… all were things Riley didn't want to hear. She didn't mind the swearing so much if it was once in a while, but that wasn't the case here. It made her so uncomfortable. _Why do I even sit here?_

At one point during the lunch conversation, Riley heard someone mock people about living a modest lifestyle as if it were the worst thing in the world.

Before she knew what she was doing, Riley snapped. "And what's wrong with that?!"

Everyone at the table shifted their focus to her, and Riley felt about two inches tall after she realized what she had said. "Calm down Riley," a girl named Pam said. "We were just joking around about it, that's what _friends_ do," she explained, but the way she said it made Riley feel that she was being sarcastic about the whole thing.

Riley opened her mouth to respond and defend her reaction, but everyone had gone back to ignoring her and continued their previous conversations. So with that, Riley picked up her lunch bag and walked to an empty table to finish her lunch in isolation. Once seated, Riley opened her book and proceeded to reread the first chapter of _The Scarlet Pimpernel._

Every once in a while, Riley would glance up at the table she had left. Everyone at the table continued on their conversations. No one noticed that she left; no one came over to where she was to see if she was okay.

_Do they even care that their words hurt me more than they realize?_

_**A/N #2: Alright, there's chapter 1; we'll find out more about what's upsetting Riley in the next chapter. I'd like to thank Pebblemist of Lighclan for convincing me to post this fic. I was on the fence on whether I'd post it or not, so make sure to thank her cause otherwise you wouldn't be reading this right now :) If you could take a moment to leave a review that would be great. Until next time!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hello again, lovelies! Thank you to all who read, reviewed, followed, and favorited. Here's the next chapter for ya. If I have time to get my ninth and tenth chapters written, I'll post TWO chapters next week. Does that sound good? Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

Riley rested her head in her hands as she looked at the pixelated image of Maya on her computer screen and waited for her best friend to respond.

"Why do you even sit with Pam and Abi and their friends?" Maya asked, her face laced with concern over her best friend. She didn't like what she heard from Riley. If they said that to Riley when she was there, they would have met her second best friend.

"I don't know," Riley said as she straightened her posture and folded her arms in front of her. Since her first year of high school, Riley had hung out with Pam, a taller girl with pencil straight brown hair, and Abi, a girl about Riley's height who had unusually dark brown eyes and hair to match. They sort of took her in, but lately it seems like they were showing their true colors. "I'm hoping they'll change somehow? They seem different around their other friends." _Or maybe they're different around me, _she thought.

Maya blew her long blonde bangs out of her face. "My poor Riles. I wish I could be there for you more often."

"Thanks… but alas something gets in the way _again,_ like every time."

Maya frowned. She honestly wished she could do something more for her. "I know. We still on for the movies this weekend?"

Riley face brightened as she nodded. "Yep. Wouldn't miss it for anything!"

Maya smiled when she saw her best friend perk up. _That's the Riley we all love._ "Alright, I hate to do this but I gotta go."

"I understand. See you tomorrow."

"See ya."

Riley pressed the 'end call' button and closed her laptop. She walked over to her bed and threw herself down onto it. Why _did _she hang out with Pam and Abi? There were the obvious reasons: they were in majority of her classes, they cared for her at one point (maybe they did, Riley wasn't entirely sure anymore), and they seemed to like to work with her.

_What if that's all just a ruse?_ Riley thought as she threw one of her smaller pillows in the air and caught it. As she continued to throw and catch the pillow, Riley thought back to the past four years.

Throughout their time in high school, Riley can recall being invited by one of them twice, maybe three times out of all the get togethers they planned. And out of those three times, Riley only went to one event. The first one she was invited to was Pam's birthday party: a horror movie marathon. Riley wasn't one for scary movies and Pam knew that, but Pam decided to invite her anyway so she didn't feel left out. Riley politely declined, but was upset to find out that they didn't even watch any horror flicks after all. It may sound silly that she was upset over it, but when they specifically said that they were having a horror movie marathon, it hurt to find out that they didn't and she could have attended.

That one event she went to was Abi's sweet 16, and she didn't even have a good time there. It was like being at school all over again. All the other friends conversed amongst themselves, and Riley ended up sitting at the end of the table pretending to be interested in the table decorations.

Then there were the times when her two of her former best friends, Hannah and Grace, started to get the group together for bowling. Riley didn't even know that they were bowling until she texted Maya one night asking if they could talk. Maya was very confused when she responded. The group told Maya that Riley was busy that night and wasn't able to come. Riley spent that night curled up in a ball on the floor, trying to read through her tears, upset that she was once again completely alone.

Tears began to slide down Riley's cheeks as she recalled everything that her so called 'friends' had done. She'd much rather be alone than to associate with any of them again. But why didn't she separate herself from the group? Riley wanted someone to talk to. Yes, she considered Maya to be a sister and could always talk to her, but she wasn't always available when she needed to talk things over. Majority of the time, technology would get in the way and wouldn't allow them to communicate. Phone calls, texts, emails, instant message… it didn't matter the communication style, technology would sabotage it somehow.

Riley grasped the pillow in her arms and rolled over onto her side. She desperately wanted someone to talk to about her past. She wanted someone who was willing to ask 'why?' instead of giving her pity.

Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as it sounded. Riley tried to talk to the others in the friend group; however, they seemed interested at first, but then they ended up ignoring her; or they would come up with a reason not to listen to her at all. She was there for them so many times that she lost count, why couldn't they do the same for her? It's not that Riley felt that they owed her for anything; she just wanted to be heard. These actions made her feel that she was bothering everyone she talked to. Riley also wanted to be able to tell them how they were hurting her. Words do hurt, despite the famous saying. _Whoever thought of that clearly didn't go through what I have been the past few years._ But if they didn't want to listen to her in the first place, what was the point in trying?

Also, all the betrayals that she experienced gave her great trust issues, that the only person she trusted outside the family was Maya. Heck, she trusted Maya with this information more than her own family. It wasn't that she didn't love her and trust her family. Riley did. But sometimes you need someone outside the family to get advice from. And right now, that didn't leave too many options.

_I just want someone who will listen and ask why,_ Riley thought. _I want someone who cares._

_**A/N #2: Hope you're enjoying it! If you could take a moment and leave a review before you head out that would be great :) So, hope I have time to write those two chapters, and keep an eye out for another little surprise I'll be posting on Christmas morning! Until next time!**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Guess who found time to write? Me! Which means two updates this week! Last chapter: we saw some of Riley's struggles. This chapter: another one of her struggles is alluded to, along with two characters being introduced for the first time in this story. Enjoy!**_

Lucas Friar walked into the busy high school, not at all eager to be starting a new school part way through senior year. He also didn't like the fact that he had to move from his home in Texas, leaving all of his friends behind a few months before he headed to college. If he had his way, he'd still be back there. However, a family was not run by democracy. It ever has been, and it never will be. It will always be a benevolent dictatorship. So here he was, awkwardly walking down the hallway with his schedule in his hands trying to find his first class. It wasn't even a class… it was study hall. _Why do I have to be here on time for a study hall? It's not like I have anything to do._

As he walked down the hallway, he could see people staring at him out of the corner of his eye, and then they would start whispering to their friends. Lucas sighed. He didn't like being the center of attention, but when you're a new student, you stick out like a sore thumb.

Lucas must not have been paying attention to the people around him, for the next time he looked up, a young dirty blonde lady who was wearing just enough to cover was standing right in front of him and was smiling. There was something about her smile that set Lucas on the edge and sent a chill down his spine.

"Hello," she began. "I'm Missy, and I couldn't help but notice that you look a little bit lost," she finished, trying to sound caring.

_I'm sure,_ Lucas thought. "I'm Lucas… and if that's the case, I'm just trying to get to my first class without being noticed."

Missy laughed. "We may be a big school, but if you're new, everyone is going to know you exist within the period of a day."

The warning bell echoed throughout the halls, signaling to students that the first period of the day was about to begin. "Why don't I show you to your first class?" Missy offered. But before Lucas could object, Missy wrapped her arm around his, plucked his schedule from his hands, and led him down the hallway.

As they walked, Missy looked over his entire schedule, trying to see if she had any classes with him. Unfortunately for her, they didn't. They only had lunch together. _Oh well, at least that leaves _some _time for me and him to get to know each other… more personally._

Once they reached Lucas' study hall, Missy let go of his arm and smiled at him. _The same smile,_ Lucas thought.

"I'll see you later, Lucas," she purred as she headed off down the hallway.

Lucas shook his head and entered the classroom. He didn't know what it was that made him feel that he should avoid her at all costs, but what he did know was that he was going to listen to that voice as much as he could. Lucas looked up and saw quite a few students scattered about the classroom, most of which were talking to each other about one thing or another. There was one person that wasn't doing any of those things. She appeared to be lost in her reading.

When he walked by, Lucas took notice in the title, _The Count of Monte Cristo. _He found this rather interesting; it wasn't like any of the books that teens would read these days, like _The Hunger Games_. He took a seat behind the one that stood next to her, sitting outside of her peripheral vision. From what he noticed, she hadn't realized that anyone had passed by her.

From what he could tell when he passed by, she had long dark brown that was slightly curled, and eyes to match. Her face was slightly rounded and her skin was a very light pallor. He wanted to say something to her, but she looked so happy enjoying her book that he couldn't bear to break her concentration. Instead, he decided that he would wait until the end of the period to say something. _I mean, I have to make new friends, right?_ he thought to himself.

To pass the time, Lucas took a notebook from his bag and started to scribble. He had nothing else to do, and he knew it was going to be a long eighty minutes.

By the time the bell rang, Lucas had covered the first few pages in his notebook with random scribbles and sayings. Needless to say, he was happy that the first period was over. He placed his notebook in his bag, slung it around his shoulder, and looked up at the young lady sitting in the row in front of him. She was still in her own world with that book. From what he could tell, she was a few pages away from finishing. Lucas shrugged and walked out of the classroom. _There will be other times to talk to her,_ he thought.

He looked down at his schedule and saw that he had history next, with Mr. Matthews. Lucas looked at the room numbers hanging on the doors and headed in the direction where the numbers were increasing. _245… 247… 249… 251!_

Lucas walked into the classroom and found a curly haired man standing at the front of the classroom writing something on the chalkboard. The man soon placed the piece of chalk in the chalk tray and turned and faced Lucas.

He gave Lucas a confusing look for a moment, then said, "Mr. Friar, I presume?"

Lucas nodded. "Yes, sir."

Mr. Matthews smiled. "Welcome to the school. Class doesn't start for another… twelve minutes, so feel free to roam about the school to get to know it better."

"Thank you sir, I think I'll just wait here."

Mr. Matthews shrugged. "As you wish," he replied, and continued to get ready for the incoming class.

Lucas chose a seat towards the front of the room and sat down. He hoped that these next twelve minutes didn't pass by slowly. Lucas was quite eager to get started with his schoolwork.

* * *

Lucas looked about the lunchroom. Yet another reason why he didn't like being the new guy… he had no clue where to sit during lunch, and from the angle where he was standing, there didn't appear to be any empty tables. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone stand up. That wasn't uncommon in a lunch room, but when he saw who it was, he smiled. It was the girl he saw in study hall earlier. When he focused on her more, he saw that she looked upset as she sat down at another table and opened her book. Lucas took a step in her direction, but someone's voice reached his ears.

"Lucas! Over here!"

He looked over to where the voice was coming from and saw Missy waving her arm, desperately trying to get his attention. Lucas paused to say something, but once again Missy said something before he could.

"You know it's rude to ignore someone," she said in an upset manor.

Lucas sighed in defeat and walked over to where Missy and her friends were sitting. Once he sat down, Missy scooted herself closer towards him and placed her hand on his arm. "So, how has your day been? Meet anyone else? Because I can tell you about which people to avoid and such," she laughed.

Lucas tried to move his chair a few inches away from Missy. "No, haven't really met anyone else. Haven't had the time to," he said as his eyes glanced over in the brown haired girl's direction.

Missy saw this, and looked over in that direction as well. "Are you sure about that? You look like you're looking at someone."

"Who's she?" Lucas asked as he got a better look at the girl he had seen earlier, now sitting alone. "The girl sitting by herself over there?"

Missy craned her neck to see who Lucas was talking about. When she saw who Lucas was talking about, Missy let out a disgusted groan. "Her? Oh, she's no one. Why don't you ask how _my _day has been?" Missy asked, trying to change the subject.

"There's no such thing as a no one. Who is she?"

Missy rolled her eyes. "That's Riley. If she's not with her pathetic excuse for a best friend, she has her nose in a book. That or she complains and overreacts over every little thing. Don't worry about her, cutie. If you want to have fun here, stay away from her. Anyway, are you doing anything after school?"

Lucas focused back on Missy, and found that she had moved herself even closer to him. _What is with her?_ "Look, Missy. I appreciate you trying to welcome me here, but I just remembered I have something to do," he said as he stood up from the table.

"But you haven't even eaten anything!"

"I can eat later," he replied and headed out of the lunchroom.

* * *

Lucas glanced around the hallways as everyone rushed outside of the school. He really wanted to talk to her, but he couldn't find her anywhere. _Maybe I should have gone and talked to her during lunch instead of going with Missy,_ he pondered. But it didn't matter now, what's done is done, and he knew that he would have plenty of more chances to see her. Lucas headed down the steps outside and headed home for the day.

_**A/N #2: Lucas is now here! Yay! If you would be so kind and leave a review before you head out that would be great :) Also, keep an eye out for a special one shot on Christmas! Until next time!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Hello again! I hope everyone had a blessed first day of Christmas. Here's the next chapter for you guys. Enjoy!**_

Like nearly every other day, both Maya and Riley entered the hallways of John Quincy Adams side by side. This time, nothing was being said between the two friends, which was what Riley needed at the moment. As much as she wanted to be able to talk to someone about how she was feeling, she loved having this time with Maya. Maya already knew, so just being able to spend time with her helped Riley a little.

It may have helped Riley to a point; however, Maya wished she could do more. It hurt her to see her best friend in so much pain. Why people would hurt a caring person like Riley was beyond her comprehension. Bullies she understood. They were either jealous or wanted to feel higher up on the social ladder. She could take care of them easily. These people however were not bullies… they acted like Riley's friends and often spoke of including her, but never fulfilled their words. All they ever spoke of was empty promises and hurtful words, and they didn't know what it did to Riley, nor did they care. What were those people called? Did they even have a label? Fake friends? Maya figured that fake friends would at least _try_ to make it appear that they wanted to include Riley, as in inviting her to events that she would actually attend. So did these people deserve that label? Maya thought it was far too lenient for them.

There were several times when Maya wanted to take care of them, but Riley didn't want her to do anything like that. "_What good would it do to fight fire with fire?"_ Maya recalled her best friend saying. What Riley said was true, but Maya still wanted them to feel something for what they were doing to her.

The two friends walked to their lockers and started to grab the books that they needed for the day, but Riley nearly dropped everything she had in her arms thanks to Farkle shouting, "Maya! Riley!" as he rushed towards them.

"Farkle!" she yelled as she caught her books. "Could you please not do that?"

Farkle cringed a bit as a couple of his nerdy friends came up behind him. "Sorry Riley, I didn't mean to startle you like that," he apologized to her. Sometimes he let his excitement get ahead of himself. "Did you guys know that there's a new student here? Apparently he started yesterday; did either of you two see him?"

Riley and Maya looked at each other and gave one another a confused expression, then they both looked back at Farkle. "Nope, neither of us have seen anyone lately."

"I've had my mind on other things lately," Riley mumbled, barely loud enough for anyone to hear, but Maya was standing close enough to hear Riley's comment. She placed her hand on her best friend's shoulder to offer her some comfort.

Riley looked up at the crowded hallway and saw someone she hadn't seen before, which wasn't uncommon. She wasn't one for socializing. He stood around six feet tall and had an athletic build. His hair was sandy brown, and his gorgeous green eyes sparkled, enhancing his smile as he looked at her.

The realization that he was looking at her didn't fully register in Riley's mind until after he had passed them. _Wait, what? He was looking at me? A handsome guy was looking at me?_

"Was that him?" one of Farkle's friends asked.

Farkle nodded. "I know everyone in this school, and I don't recognize him at all."

"Looks like a book about baseball," the same friend said.

Riley didn't hear a word of what Farkle and his friend said. Her mind was on the guy that looked at her as he passed by. If he was the new student, why was he looking at her? She didn't meet him before, or that she could recall, so why would he look at her? She wasn't anyone special, was she? He was pretty cute. Then again, she could be reading into it way too much, but part of her didn't think so. _Was there a reason? What is that reason?_

The warning bell interrupted her thoughts and sent majority of the group scattering towards their first classes. The only ones that didn't move right away were Maya and Riley. They stayed standing where they were.

When Riley looked up at Maya, she saw a look on her best friend's face that she knew all too well. Maya's defense mode had been turned on. "I take it I wasn't the only one to see what he was looking at," Riley stated.

Maya nodded. "You would be correct in saying that." When she saw him look at her best friend, the only thought that went through Maya's mind was 'defend Riley.' The last thing she needed was someone to hurt her again, and she was going to make sure that it didn't happen to the best of her abilities.

* * *

Riley was sitting right in front of her locker, her book bag lying right beside her, and like every other time when she was alone, she was immersed in a book. The rest of her day had gone as she had expected. She did her best to pay attention in class, and when she wasn't there, Riley did her best to enter another world when she pulled out her book and started reading. As much as Riley loved this world, she tried to escape it as much as she could when she was in school. High school was not a good time, and she wanted to avoid it as much as possible.

Lunch was different today. Instead of sitting at the lunch table with Pam, Abi, and all of their friends, she sat at a different table by herself, once again reading as she ate her lunch. Today she didn't mind it, for Riley was able to get a good chunk of _The Scarlet Pimpernel _read. She had just reached the part where Sir Percy arrived at the gala when she decided to leave the lunchroom early and visit her dad in his classroom for a bit. That chapter was one of her favorites, and Riley didn't want to get cut off during the middle of it, so she thought she'd take advantage of the fact her father worked here and spent some time with him.

Usually, Riley found that students didn't like it when their parents worked at the same school they attended. Riley was the opposite. She enjoyed it, and saw it as an opportunity to spend some more 'father-daughter' time together. This year, Riley wasn't in any of his classes, but that didn't stop her from visiting him during his planning periods and chat with him.

Currently, Riley was waiting for her dad to finish in his department meeting, then they would be heading home for the night. Again, Riley didn't mind waiting for her dad. If anything, these little moments that they shared throughout the day helped them to grow closer. _Now if I could do the same thing with mom._

Riley set down her book and thought about it. Her mother, Topanga Matthews, was definitely something. They shared several things in common, but it was finding time to enjoy those commonalities that was the struggle because of Topanga's crazy work schedule. Being a lawyer and a mom means there's not much free time, but Topanga did her best to find that time. For example, Riley and her mom would pick a weekend and go shopping for most of the day. This way, they could talk about anything they wanted (especially girl stuff since there were no boys allowed on these trips) and enjoy each other's company. Who knows, maybe they could cook dinner together someday; both of them enjoyed cooking, and it seemed like something they'd be able to do together. Riley knew that sometimes her mom needed to stay away from preparing certain foods, like chicken or oatmeal. Otherwise, her mom could be quite the cook.

She lifted her book in front of her eyes and continued to read, laughing to herself at the character's figurative blindness in this particular chapter. _If they only put together to obvious hints, _she thought, _but then there would be no story, and the Scarlet Pimpernel would be in greater danger a lot sooner. _

Riley didn't know how much time had passed, she assumed not much because she hadn't gotten far into the chapter, but she heard footsteps approaching her. At first, she thought nothing of it, and when they stopped in front of her, she looked up and expected to see her dad. But when she looked up and saw it wasn't him, her heart seemed to sink and flutter at the same time. _So much for not getting interrupted so I could finish this chapter._

It was the handsome guy who was looking at her earlier that day, smiling at her once again.

_**A/N #2: Bit of a cliffhanger there for you guys. I'm going to go back to weekly updates until I figure out where I want to take this after chapter 10. I have a couple chapters after that point in the works, but where they will fall I'm not quite sure yet. If you could leave me a review before you head out that would be great :) Until next time!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, favorited, and followed. You guys are the best! Now, ready for Riley and Lucas to meet? :D**_

When Riley made eye contact with the guy standing in front of her, her stomach started to form knots.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

Riley shook her head and tossed her bag to her left side, allowing him to sit on her right.

"Hi," he began. "I'm Lucas."

"I'm Riley," she responded. "Nice to meet you. I take it you're the new student?"

Lucas nodded slowly. "Was it that obvious?"

Riley shook her head. "Don't take offense to this, but I didn't know you existed until I saw you earlier today. I'm not one for observing. I didn't even know we had a new student until Farkle said something, and when I didn't recognize you I kind of put two and two together. But honestly, I don't even know most of the people in this school."

"Farkle?" Lucas asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, that's his real name. It actually fits him when you get to know him better."

Lucas dipped his head. "You said that you don't know most of the people here, if you don't mind me asking, why is that?"

Riley froze. Here she was, talking with a guy she knew for all of two minutes, and he had already asked a question that people she had known for years refused to ask. 'Why?' There were several answers to that question. One was a very long answer, one was fairly short, and the others ranged in between that. As much as she wanted to talk to someone and let out all of her feelings, she wasn't sure that now was the time. Heck, Lucas probably wasn't expecting some long sob story that often made Riley question if she was overreacting to the whole thing. So, she decided to give him the plain and simple explanation, for now anyway.

"I am who I am and try to blend into the background without being noticed all that much. It may sound lonely, but sometimes that's better than getting hurt," she explained, her voice cracking slightly as she did so. "Besides, I have my best friend here at school, and many friends in here," she said, lifting up her book.

Lucas let out a soft chuckle. "You consider book characters to be your friends?"

Riley shrugged. "Why not? Whenever I read I feel like I'm transported to a different world. There's a reason why you like and dislike certain characters. Sure, the author writes them that way, but it's the relatable characteristics that make them who they are. All the characters I like have certain qualities that I find in myself or in people I like. That and they can't—" Riley cut herself off. She couldn't believe that she almost went there.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "They can't do what? "

Riley shook her head. "No, no… it's nothing. Forget I said anything," she replied, trying to keep her emotions in check, and failing in doing so.

Lucas placed his hand on her shoulder. When Riley felt his touch, more butterflies began to form in her stomach and her heart raced. _What is it with this guy? Why is he making me feel this way?_

"They can't do what?" he repeated.

A single tear fell down Riley's cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. She didn't need him to see her crying. "They can't hurt me," she whispered.

"Riley, is there something that you need to talk about?"

Riley closed her eyes. How was it he picked up on all of her subtle hints? Why didn't anyone else but Maya? "Please don't take offense in what I'm about to say. Do I need to talk about it? Yes. However, I just met you a few minutes ago, Lucas; I don't fully trust you yet. Believe me, it's not because you're not a great guy. Even in these few minutes talking I can tell that you are. It's because of what has happened to me, I have several trust issues. I just need time to develop that trust and make sure you won't throw it away. Who knows, maybe someday in the future I'll be able to tell you."

Lucas nodded at every word Riley said. Whatever had happened to her caused her such great pain that the emotional wounds were still quite raw. "Whenever you're ready to talk, I'll be here for you."

Riley smiled slightly and said, "Thank you," but what Lucas saw on the outside was not what she was experiencing on the inside. She was confused about what he just said. _How was he so sure already? Was he always like this? Did the Universe* put him in my life for a reason?_

The two remained silent for a few moments before Lucas asked, "So what book are you reading?"

Riley tilted the cover towards Lucas so he could get a better view of it. "It's _The Scarlet Pimpernel_, one of my favorites."

"How many favorites do you have?"

Riley bit her lip as she tried to think of all the books on her shelf back at home. "Way too many," she finally replied, realizing that she loved all of the books that she owned. It was impossible to narrow it down to a few, especially when each one of them had different themes and characteristics that made them special.

"What's this one about?" Lucas asked, gesturing towards the book.

"It's set during the French Revolution and revolves around the actions of an English spy who saves innocent lives from the guillotine. His real identity is unknown, except for the select few who work for him. He is known as the Scarlet Pimpernel, and the French do everything they can to try and catch him."

"Do they?"

A playful smile crept over Riley's lips. "That you will have to find out on your own, Lucas."

Lucas' mouth fell open. "What? Why were you so willing in giving me the plot line if you aren't going to tell me if he survives?"

Riley giggled. "Who says I gave you the plot line?"

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't say you wanted the plot line, I just touched on what the book was generally about. The plot line is much more involved."

Lucas grimaced. "You, Riley, are devious."

A wide grin spread across Riley's lips. "Why thank you!"

Lucas shook his head. "Why are you reading in the hallway after everyone has left?"

"I'm just waiting for my dad to get done with his faculty meeting."

"And here he is," a voice announced.

Both Riley and Lucas looked up towards the source of the voice, and Lucas was quite shocked to see his history teacher standing in front of them.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Friar."

"Afternoon, sir," Lucas replied.

Mr. Matthews smiled and shifted his focus to his daughter. "You ready to go, Riley?"

Riley nodded as she placed her book into her bag and stood up. "I'll talk to you later, Lucas."

"Talk to you later," he responded just before the father and daughter pair headed down the hallway and out of the school building.

Lucas leaned his head back on the lockers and let out his breath. His mind was on Riley Matthews, the daughter of his history teacher. _How could a girl like her be alone all the time?_ he wondered. Even though they didn't end up chatting for very long, she seemed really nice, like the kind of person everyone wanted to be around. He knew that the reason why she was alone all the time was hidden in the information she refused to disclose for now. And when he asked about it, he noticed that she was caught off guard. _Doesn't she have any friends she can talk to? Where are they?_

He looked back down the hallway; Riley and her dad were long gone. Lucas wanted to know what was going on with her. He understood her reasoning on why she didn't want to say, but Lucas wanted to help her. He knew how it felt to be in a building full of people with no one really to talk to.

He was living it right now.

_***same as what the writers had it mean in Girl Meets Truth (they mentioned it a while ago on Twitter). **_

_**A/N #2: Like? Don't like it? Let me know by leaving a review! It doesn't have to be long; only one word works too :) Until next time!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Hey all, back with the next chapter! I'm almost done writing this fic which means once chapter 20 is written, I will be posting twice a week :) Enjoy!**_

_**Note: bolded text is part of the notes between Riley and Lucas.**_

Riley adjusted her bag's strap on her shoulder as she entered her study hall. She was expecting it to be like any other day where she'd sit back and lose herself in one of her books without caring about what went on in the world around her. But when Riley looked up, she saw Lucas sitting in the desk next to the one she usually sat at. As she approached the desks, Riley felt her stomach start to form knots, and she didn't understand why either. Maybe it was because no one really paid that much attention to her, except for Maya that is.

Once she stood in front of Lucas, Riley readjusted the strap on her shoulder out of nervousness and gave him a small smile. "Hi," she said.

Lucas returned the smile; his eyes seemed to sparkle as he did so. "Hi," he responded.

"How long have you been in this study hall?"

"Since my first day."

Riley nodded as she sat down at her desk. _How did I not notice him?_ she asked herself as she thought back to what she was doing two days ago. As soon as she entered last time, Riley sat down and dove right into her book. Even though she didn't care about what went on while she was reading, she could at least detect what was going on around her. Riley really must have been lost into her book if she didn't notice him come in.

Lucas leaned towards Riley to say something, but the substitute teacher looked up from her desk and announced, "Everyone please find some work to do. This is a study hall, not the social hour."

Everyone who had been talking rolled their eyes, but listened to the older woman. They all knew that this substitute was one to follow the rules, and didn't dare challenge her unless they wanted in school suspension for a week.

Riley reached into her bag, took out her book, and started reading. However, she only got through a couple of pages when she heard a soft 'thwap' of something landing on her desk. She looked down and saw a folded piece of paper sitting in front of her. Riley slowly opened the note with her right hand and read it.

**She never said anything about notes. That, and as long as you keep reading, she shouldn't see :)**

Riley smiled and laughed to herself as she pulled a pen out of her bag and wrote her reply. **I'm never going to get through this chapter, am I? That's fine :) Are you one for always trying to get his way?**

She folded the note back up, took it in her hand, and extended her arm for Lucas to take the note back. Once he had it again, Riley tried to continue reading her book, but once again she didn't get too far before the note landed on her desk again. She opened it again and read it.

**Depends on how fast you read, but my bet would be no. And I would consider this to be a loophole; she said no ****talking**** not no ****note taking.**** Besides, I wanna talk to my friend. And no, I don't try to always get my way. That's not me.**

Riley's eyes widened slightly as she looked over the words that were written on the page. _How does Lucas already consider me to be a friend? We've only talked once!_ She placed her pen on the paper and began to write. **We've only talked for, what… ten minutes? How can you already consider me to be a friend?**

She handed the note back to Lucas and waited for his response. This time, Riley didn't bother to try reading again; for some reason, she was nervous about finding out his response. This time, Lucas took a bit longer to write his reply before the note ended up on her desk again. When Riley opened it, she was surprised at what she read.

**Why wouldn't I? I know that we've only talked briefly, but in that few minutes you have treated me better than anyone else I've talked to. That, and you seem like a really caring person. You have a great sense of humor from what you've shown me. I'm good at seeing people, and you seem like a really considerate individual… not to sound creepy or anything. It's just what I'm good at.**

**I thought I used to be good at seeing people, too. But it looks like I've gotten a bit rusty. ** She penned her response and handed it back. Honestly, she thought this was kind of fun.

After a few more moments, the note was returned to her. **It takes practice. Let me guess, you're a bit rusty because it deals with what we sort of talked about yesterday?**

Riley's heart sunk when she read it and wrote her answer. **Yes… it does. I'm just not ready to say what that is yet. Do you mind?**

**No problem, ma'am. I won't push you to tell me. It's your business, and I'll be here for you if you do decide to tell me, whether that time is months away or not.**

Riley had to cover her mouth to stifle her laughter at the first sentence she read. '**Ma'am?' Where did you come from, Texas?**

**Yes ma'am, I did :) **it read.

Riley's eyes widened when she read the response. She wasn't being serious at all, she hoped he didn't take it seriously. **Oh my gosh, I was joking! But that's cool. Wait, what is someone from Texas doing in NYC now? Talk about a huge change of pace!**

**You can say that again! My mom got a better job offer up here. I was going to try and stay with my uncle for the rest of my senior year, but my mom wouldn't allow it. So, here I am.**

Riley felt her heart drop slightly. She didn't know how it felt to leave everyone you knew behind, but she knew what it was like to feel alone in a place full of people. **I'm sorry things didn't work out for you.**

**Nah, don't be. If things did, I wouldn't have met you.**

When she read the latest response, Riley's smile spread across her face, and she blushed slightly. **Then I'm glad it worked out for you… in a way.**

Lucas looked up just as Riley read what was written and saw the smile spread across her face. There was something about that smile that seemed different than the others that he had seen on her. The others seemed like they were fake, as if they were part of a mask she wore nearly all the time. This one seemed genuine. Lucas took back the note from Riley, read her response, and wrote his response. **I like that smile. It's beautiful! Why don't you show it more often?**

Riley bit her lip as she wrote her reply. ***shrug* because not many people can get me to smile like that outside my family? It only comes out when I'm enjoying myself.**

**Then I must be doing something right if I'm able to see it.**

The bell rang before Riley could right her response, so she turned to Lucas and answered, "Yeah… you could say that."

Lucas smiled slightly as they both stood up from their desks. "So, I'll see you around?" he asked.

Riley nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that," she replied before heading out of the room and towards the library.

Lucas watched her as she walked down the hallway. A couple of her responses kind of confused him. Why would she be surprised that he considered her a friend? Why didn't she show that beautiful smile of hers more often? He had a strong feeling that everything dealt with what she didn't want to tell him yet. Lucas understood her reason for not telling him yet, but part of him wanted to know what the problem was. He wanted to help her through what she was going through.

OoOoO

Riley sat down at her usual lunch table and let out her breath. For once, she actually enjoyed her study hall because someone wanted to spend time with her. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy them before when she was reading, it was just nice to have someone who was _willing_ to talk to her. Riley couldn't wait to tell Maya about what happened.

She opened her book to try and finish the chapter she had started earlier as she slowly ate her lunch. However, the sound of someone clearing their throat reached her ears before she could finish the page. Riley looked up and saw Lucas standing in front of the table.

"You're never going to let me finish this chapter, are you?" Riley joked.

Lucas shrugged. "Guess not. Mind if I join you?"

She smiled. "Go ahead."

Once Lucas sat himself next to Riley, another person approached the table and stood right alongside the table.

"Hey Riles," Maya greeted, and then focused her gaze on the guy sitting next to Riley, her expression hardening as she did so. "Who's he?" she asked, nodding her head towards him.

"Maya, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is my best friend, Maya."

Lucas nodded. "Nice to meet you," he said. However, Maya's expression didn't change.

"Yeah, sure," she responded as she sat on the other side of her best friend.

Riley looked at Maya's expression, and she knew that look all too well. "Well, I need to go grab a napkin. I'll be back," she announced as she stood up and walked away from the table.

Once Riley was a few feet away from the table, Maya decided to interrogate this Lucas. "So. What are you doing?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Care to elaborate?"

Maya sighed and dropped her hands on the table. "Why are you hanging out with Riley?"

"Because she's my friend and I'm trying to get to know her."

It was Maya's turn to raise her eyebrows. "Friend? You've been here two days and you already consider her a friend?"

Lucas nodded. "She asked the same thing earlier, and I'll tell you the same thing that I told her. In the short time I've known her, I can already tell that she's a really caring person, and would do anything for her friends. Granted, when I try to get to know her better she can be a bit cryptic in her answers, but that's fine. Riley's told me that the reason why she doesn't answer some of my questions is because of something that happened in her past. Do I want her to tell me? Yes, but I will let her do it on her own time. The only reason why I want to know is because I want to help her through whatever pain she's experiencing."

Maya processed what Lucas had just said. There were so many people who acted like they cared about Riley, but so far, Lucas seemed genuine. "You make sure you don't hurt her, otherwise you'll have me to answer to."

Lucas nodded again. "Then I don't have anything to worry about," he said confidently.

"We'll see," she replied as she stood up and exited the cafeteria.

Riley returned soon afterwards and sat back down. "So, how was talking with Maya?"

"Very interesting interrogation she put me through."

Riley bit her lip. "Yeah, well… she's just trying to protect me. Maya can get really defensive towards people she cares about, especially me."

"Understandable. Where did she go anyway?"

"The only time Maya and I have to spend together is before classes start and homeroom. Right now she has a study hall, so if she can get away she'll come and hang out with me."

Lucas' eyes softened. "I'm sorry, am I cutting into your time with her?"

Riley shook her head. "No, no, don't worry. The only times she doesn't stay is when too many people left the study hall, and the monitor won't let anyone else leave. So, she says she has to go to the bathroom and comes here to check on me."

"Sounds like a really good friend."

Riley nodded. "That she is. She's helped me through a lot. I just wish that we'd be able to spend more time together. School, technology… everything doesn't want us to talk. But we try our best despite that."

"That must be hard."

She shrugged. "We do the best we can."

_**A/N #2: Sorry if the ending was kind of abrupt, I couldn't think of anything else to add. Anyway, if you could leave a review before you head out that would be great. Until next time!**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: It's official. All of the chapters for this story have been written and are in the vault, which means there will be two updates a week! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the latest update :)**_

*One Week Later*

Lucas approached Riley as she placed her books into her locker and grabbed her lunch bag. He leaned up against the locker beside hers and gave Riley a smile.

"Hey."

Riley looked up and returned the smile. "Hey. How are you doing?"

"Pretty good, glad it's lunch time. Ready to go?" he asked, gesturing towards the cafeteria.

Riley bit her lip as she shut her locker, something Lucas noticed she did when she was a bit nervous. "Actually, I had something else in mind, if that doesn't bother you."

Lucas shook his head. "Not at all."

"Do you need to go buy your lunch?"

"Nope," he replied, pulling a brown paper bag from behind him. "Decided to pack today. I'm getting sick of the stuff they call food here."

Riley let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, the food here is not the best. So, are you ready?"

Lucas nodded and extended his arm. "Lead the way."

Riley walked a few feet down the hallway and led Lucas into her father's classroom. "I don't know about you, but I needed some place else to eat besides the cafeteria. My dad has a planning period during this time, so sometimes I'd leave lunch early and come here. Don't know why I didn't think of staying here for the entire lunch period before, but then again classes only started about a month ago." She plopped herself on the ground close to the blackboard, and then looked up at Lucas. "Is being here okay with you?"

Lucas sat down alongside Riley and set his lunch in front of him. "Of course it is," he replied.

Just as Lucas finished his sentence, Mr. Matthews entered the room with some papers in his hand. The academic looked up and saw the two students sitting on the floor. "Riley, Mr. Friar," he greeted.

"Hey dad!"

"Sir."

"I need to go and make some copies," he said as he walked towards his desk to drop off the papers in his hand and to pick up a manila folder. "I take it I can trust you two to be good while I'm gone?"

Riley rolled her eyes. "Dad, do you really have to ask?"

Mr. Matthews smiled. "No, I just like to give you a hard time; I'll be back in a few minutes," he told the two teens.

"Sounds good," Riley responded just before her father left.

Once Mr. Matthews reached the door, he looked back at the two teens and made brief eye contact with Lucas, hardening his expression ever so slightly when their eyes met before he left the classroom and headed down the hallway. Lucas felt his stomach drop slightly when his eyes met his teacher's. He knew that look far too well. Back in Texas, Lucas had gone on a few dates throughout high school, and even those were just to school dances. But when Lucas went to go pick up his date, he was given the same look by the fathers. He was treading in dangerous territory. Lucas was spending time with Mr. Matthews' daughter, something the teacher wasn't going to take lightly.

Honestly, Lucas didn't even consider the fact Mr. Matthews would take it in that way, but he should have. Over the past couple of weeks, Lucas felt something between him and Riley, much more than friendship. However, Lucas was in no position to be looking for a girlfriend at the moment. He wanted to get to know her as a friend before anything else happened.

"Does he always do that?" Lucas asked.

Riley shrugged. "Depends on the day, really. He's just joking around."

"Ah."

There was a brief moment of silence before Riley spoke. "So, tell me about where you lived in Texas. What was it like?"

Lucas leaned his head up against the wall and smiled. "Where to begin. Well, for starters I lived on a farm for most of my life. I loved it so much. There's nothing like riding around on over one hundred acres. My family was always close by, along with my friends. It was nice… so quiet and peaceful. Quite the opposite of what I see here."

"I'm sorry if this sounds a bit naïve since there aren't many around here, but what did you have on the farm?"

Lucas shook his head. "It doesn't sound naïve at all. Besides, there are a vast variety of farms. We had mostly cattle and horses, nothing else really."

Riley smiled. "Oh, so you're a cowboy then?" she teased lightly.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, you could say so. I used to do some roping tournaments, but nothing with our own cattle. My parents wouldn't let me, not until I was older. My uncle promised me that he'd show me this summer when I go down to visit them."

"So you're family still owns the farm then?"

"Yeah, my Uncle Buster bought it. That way if my mom and I ever wanted to come back and visit we could stay there."

Riley tilted her head slightly. "What about your dad? Is he here with your mom?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, he passed away a few years ago. That's actually one of the main reasons why we moved. My mom couldn't really afford to keep the farm going anymore, so she began to look for a better job. She finally found one, and since it was here, she had to sell the farm and move."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks. Sometimes it can still be hard, but you can't stop living."

They began to eat, neither of them saying anything for a few minutes.

"So," Lucas began, "looking forward to anything special in the coming months?"

Riley shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I like the fact that the cooler weather is coming soon. I love the autumn weather. My birthday is in two months along with winter break… but other than that, nothing really. I mean, I should be hearing from the colleges I applied to soon, so I guess I'm looking forward to that too?" She let out her breath and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, that's probably not the answer you were hoping for, was it?"

Lucas let out a chuckle. "I wasn't really hoping for anything. Was just trying to keep the awkward silence from overwhelming us."

"Sorry about that… I'm not much of a talker unless the other person starts the conversation," she replied.

"There's no problem with that."

Riley perked up a little. "Really?"

Lucas raised an eyebrow when he heard Riley's answer. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"You'd be surprised at what people think."

He placed a hand on hers, making Riley feel as if electricity was coursing through her body. "I don't care about what other people think. What's important is what _you_ think," he replied as he looked deeply into Riley's eyes, hoping his words would help her in some way.

* * *

Missy was on her way to her locker to get her sweater when she heard the sound of someone laughing reach her ears. She paused for a second to try to determine where it was coming from. However, the laughter stopped by the time she tried to trace the sound. Missy looked around and noticed the couple of classrooms that were nearby. If she was able to hear it, the laughter probably came from one of them.

Missy approached the closest classroom, Mr. Matthews' room, and peered inside. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Lucas sitting beside Riley on the floor with his hand placed on top of hers. A wave of anger erupted inside of her. There was nothing more that Missy wanted at the moment than to go inside the room and break those two apart. Lucas shouldn't be spending time with such a low life. The only thing that would happen if he hung out with Riley would be that she would drag him down along with her.

She was very tempted to go in and ask what Lucas was doing, but considering they were in Mr. Matthews' room, and he wasn't there at the moment, he could be back at any time. Missy headed to her locker and began to think about when she could do something to help Lucas out of the trap he was falling into. All she knew was that it had to be done soon.

_**A/N #2: Hmm, what is Missy up to? We shall find out soon! If you could let me know what you thought by leaving a review before you head out that would be great. Until next time!**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Thank you to all of those who have read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this fic. It really means a lot to me that you guys enjoy this. Also, if you review and I forget to send you a PM to thank you, I'm sorry. I've been meaning to thank you all, then I get busy, and I forget who I've messaged. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

*One Week Later*

Maya sat on the edge of Riley's bed while her best friend was sprawled out behind her as they half paid attention to the movie playing on Riley's laptop. Or rather Maya was half paying attention to the movie. Maya was observing her best friend out of the corner of her eye while Riley appeared to be more interested in the floor in front of her. Neither one of them had said anything to each other since the movie started, and Riley appeared to be in another world soon after the opening scene. Maya reached over to the laptop and stopped the movie. She looked up to see if her best friend changed, but Riley didn't appear to notice that the movie wasn't playing anymore; she was still staring at the same patch of floor.

"Earth to Riley," Maya called out as she waved in front of her best friend's eyes. The only time Maya ever saw Riley like this was when she was deep in thought. _If she's that deep in thought, then what on earth could she be thinking about?_

Riley blinked as she noticed Maya's hand pass before her eyes. "Huh?" she asked as she turned towards Maya. "Did you say something?" Riley looked down at her laptop and noticed that the movie wasn't playing anymore. _Didn't we just start that? Is it over? Did I completely zone out again?_

Maya shrugged. "Was just trying to get your attention. You seemed to be in your own little world for quite a while now." She tilted her head slightly as she studied Riley's expression. "What could keep you occupied for the majority of _Prince Caspian? _ Even during the raid?"

"I was just thinking about someone, that's all."

"Who could keep your mind _that_ occupied? Unless they're someone I need to take care of," Maya replied, cracking her knuckles as she did so.

Riley shook her head as she rolled onto her back. "No, no. It's nothing like that at all," she responded as she looked back up at her best friend.

All Riley had to do was make eye contact with Maya, and she instantly knew who it was. "You were thinking about Cowboy!"

Riley rolled her eyes at what Maya called Lucas. Ever since she told Maya about what they talked about during that lunch, Maya insisted on calling him some sort of country/ western related nick name. "Yes, I was thinking about _Lucas_," Riley stressed.

"Hey, you two have been spending a lot of time together during school. I had to know that I was going to lose you to the dark side sooner or later," Maya joked, adding an instigating wink to the end of her statement.

Riley let out a snort. "Yeah right, Maya. There is no way I'm falling to that side anytime soon," she replied, trying to suppress a small smile, but it managed to work its way onto Riley's lips.

Maya saw the smile and her eyes widened. "I have lost you!" she groaned. "You like Cowboy!"

"Maybe…" Riley trailed.

"'Maybe'? What kind of answer is maybe? Either you like the guy or not; I didn't think there is an in between."

Riley covered her face with her hands. "I-I don't know, Maya. I think I like him, but I'm not sure. From what I've gotten to know about him, yes… I do like him. He fits a lot of my really high expectations for the one I want to marry someday. I like that he's a gentleman, and he respects my wishes. He's kind and he can make me laugh. Whenever I'm around him, I feel different. My heart feels like it's going to explode, and I feel like I can't breathe. However, there's still so much I don't know about him, and I don't know if I can trust him yet. I want to; I just don't want to get hurt again. It's happened so many times that I'm scared to get to know anyone new."

Maya nodded. She didn't blame Riley for being cautious. "Don't worry about it, Riles."

Riley rolled back onto her stomach and blew her long hair out of her face. "Too late," she sighed.

Maya let out her breath. She didn't have to hear Riley's confession to know that Riley really cared for Lucas, more than she probably should at this point. _He must be really something if he's making her feel this way,_ Maya thought._ But I _have_ to make sure he won't hurt her. He already said he wouldn't, but I have to be sure. So many people make promises but aren't willing to keep them. Riley's already been through enough with caring for others that eventually turned around and stabbed her in the back. I have to do everything I can to protect her._

"Anyway," Maya said after spending a few moments lost in thought. "How about we get your mind off of him for now. Shall we start the movie again?"

Riley smiled. "A movie, sure. But do you mind if we change it? Even though there's barely any screen time of it and I don't like the pairing, I'm not really in the mood for any romance."

Maya laughed. "No problem! How about the second _Lord of the Rings_ movie? Or if you want to stick with Narnia, we can watch _The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe_."

"Well, seeing how we have school tomorrow and wouldn't be able to get through _Lord of the Rings_ before we'd have to go to bed, I vote _The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe_," Riley responded.

"You got it!" Maya said as she began to take the first movie out of the disc drive.

Riley reached under her bed, pulled out her movies collection, and pulled out _The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe_ from its spot. She handed it to Maya to put into the disc drive and repositioned herself on her bed so she could see the screen better. Every once in a while during the film, Riley's thoughts would wander to Lucas, but they would quickly shift back to the film. But during those brief moments, she did wonder if someone like him could ever like someone like her.

_**A/N #2: Like? Dislike? Let me know by writing a review before you leave! Even if it's one word; it doesn't take long :) Until next time!**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Hey all! Here's the next update! I just wanted to let you guys know that I may be late posting the next chapter. I'm heading out of town tomorrow, and I'll be back sometime Friday afternoon. Depending on when I get back and how tired I am, I'll do my best to post it when I get back, but it may have to wait until Saturday morning. Anyhow, enjoy!**_

_**Also: HAPPY (early) BIRTHDAY BETHANY TUCKER! :D**_

Maya quickly rounded the corner, attempting her utmost best to weave around all the students as they headed out of the school for the day. Sometimes, she would run into one of the oncoming students, but at the moment she didn't care. All that mattered was finding someone before they had left for the weekend. Maya quickened her pace and lengthened her stride when she didn't catch sight of who she was looking for, and then headed into the main hallway. She strained her neck to try and see if she could see him. Sure enough, Maya saw his tall frame about ten yards away from her.

"Hey! Lucas!" she called out as she continued in his direction.

Maya saw him stop and turn around to face her. He crossed his arms and waited for the short blonde to reach him.

"Hey Maya," Lucas said once she reached him.

"Hey yourself," Maya replied as she placed her hands into her jacket pockets. "We need to talk."

Lucas looked around the hall, noticing all the students passing by the two. "Here?"

Maya shrugged. "Do you have a better place in mind?" she asked flatly.

He shook his head. "Nope, go ahead. What do we need to talk about?"

Maya sighed as she gathered her thoughts. "What are your thoughts regarding Riley?"

"Excuse me?" Lucas asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"How do you see Riley? What is she to you?" Maya rephrased.

"Didn't I already answer this question two weeks ago?"

"I don't care," Maya replied at a near growl. "Answer it again."

"Whatever pleases you, ma'am," he responded.

Maya narrowed her eyes at his response. _What Riley said about this guy is true. He really _is_ a cowboy._

"Like I told you before, I consider Riley a good friend, and I would do anything to help her. _No one_ deserves to be in such great pain. All I want to do is to be able to help my friend through her pain."

"How do I know that you won't end up adding to her pain? How do I know you won't ditch her and head on back to the hoe downs and cattle pageants?" Maya asked, adding a slight accent to the last part of her question, hoping to annoy him slightly.

Lucas smirked. "If you're expecting a reaction from me about your views of country life, I'm sorry to disappoint you. It's like what my Uncle Buster says, 'Be like an eagle and soar above the mockingbird.'"

Maya's eyes narrowed even more. "And I'm the mocking bird."

Lucas nodded. "I take it Riley told you about me and where I came from."

"Riley tells me everything, and with good reason. Now, answer my question. How do I know you won't end up hurting Riley even more?"

Lucas adjusted his bag's strap on his shoulder as he thought about his answer. "If my words haven't told you anything, look at my actions. Or rather what Riley says about them. Has she given you any reason for you to doubt me?"

Maya's head vaguely bobbed from side to side. "Yes and no. Right now, she feels that she can trust you, but she's nervous to do so. And frankly, that slight doubt has put you on my radar."

"Well it shouldn't because I wouldn't do anything to harm her."

"So you say, but that doesn't give me any reason to believe you," Maya replied.

"Oh really? Then how about this. I wouldn't do anything to hurt Riley because even though I've only known her for a few weeks, I've grown to care about her deeply… probably more so than anyone in this school."

Maya snorted and quickly covered her mouth to try and soften any laughter that could have escaped. "Nice try there, Cowboy. I'm sure I have you beat in that area."

Lucas looked down at the ground. "Not in this way," he mumbled.

A questioning look came over Maya's face when she heard his answer. _Not in this way?_ Maya thought to herself. _How could…_

Maya never finished her thought, for the pieces of the puzzle had aligned in her mind. "You like her," Maya breathed.

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, I do. I've never cared for someone like this before, and I know that this kind of feeling is special. If anything bad happens to Riley, something inside of me hurts as well. When I first met her, she hinted towards something about the way people had treated her. Something about how book characters can't hurt her. When I heard her voice break, my heart was crushed. When the single tear fell from her eye, I wanted to make everything better for her, despite the fact I don't really know what happened. How's that for a reason why?"

Maya stood in front of Lucas for a few moments completely speechless. "That's… not too bad of a reason."

"Well, it's the truth," Lucas replied.

A few more silent moments passed. Everyone that was in the hallways when their conversation (or as Lucas would like to call it, her interrogation) began was long gone, and all who was left in the halls was the janitors.

"So, can I go now?" Lucas asked.

"Just one more thing," Maya responded as she took out her phone and tapped her screen.

A few seconds later, Lucas' phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the number being displayed on my screen.

"If anything does happen to Riley, you can contact me. Sometimes Riley wants to tell me what happened, but technology does not always cooperate with us," Maya said.

"Uh huh… but how did you get my number?"

Maya shrugged. "You were a potential threat so I took it from Riley's phone without her realizing it."

"So you were spying on me," Lucas concluded as he put his phone back into his pocket.

"Meh, you could say that. I call it research on potential targets."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Cause that doesn't make it sound suspicious. Just make sure not to tell anyone about this, especially Riley or her dad. I want to tell them in my own way. Anyway, I have to go. I'll see you around," he finished as he turned on his heel and headed out of the building.

Maya nodded. "Yeah," she called out. _For Riley's sake._

_**A/N #2: Whatcha think? Hope you liked it! See ya when I get back!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: It's been a looooong three days, but I'm officially back. Sorry that it's a bit late, I expected to be home a couple of hours ago, but we left later than I thought. Anyway, on with the chapter! Now, for some answers on Riley's past. Enjoy!**_

*Two Weeks Later*

"Doesn't it bother you that your dad works here sometimes?" Lucas asked as they continued to head down the deserted hallway. About once a week, Lucas and Riley would stay after school to chat. It was nice; rarely anyone stayed after unless they had sports or detention, so it was like they had the whole school to themselves.

Riley shook her head. "No, it gives me the opportunity to spend more time with him. I know a lot of people would think it would get annoying, but it doesn't."

Lucas smiled. "You sure seem to find the positive in everything."

Riley shrugged, knowing that wasn't completely true. "I try. But sometimes it's harder to find in certain situations."

The next time the two of them looked up, they saw Missy Bradford walking towards them with an irritated expression plastered across her face. Both Riley and Lucas stopped where they were and hoped that Missy would continue on her way down the hallway, but they had no such luck. Missy stopped right in front of them, or to be more accurate, right in front of Lucas.

"What do you think you're doing?" Missy demanded.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

Missy face turned a deep shade of pink as the anger grew inside her. "Don't play dumb with me, Friar. Clearly you didn't take my warnings seriously when I told you to stay away from _this_," she said, gesturing towards Riley. "All she does is whine and complain about stupid little things that no one cares about and ends up dragging her friends down with her. Do you really want to be around a person like _that_, at the bottom rung of the social ladder? Even saying that is generous considering her antisocial behavior around everyone in this school."

Riley's breathing hitched; hearing those words felt like a punch in the stomach. She felt as she couldn't breathe. After hearing those words, Riley desperately tried to keep a tight lid on the anger and sadness that tried to make their way out of her emotional box. However, her attempts failed, and hot tears began to fill her eyes.

"Y-Y'know, Lucas? I-I forgot I had to g-go do something," Riley stuttered before she turned around and dashed down the hallway.

Lucas was only able to process half of what Riley said before he saw her take off. "Riley!" he called after her, hoping that she would stop and come back, but there was no such luck. She rounded the corner at great speed and disappeared from his vision.

Lucas turned back to Missy, whose supposed anger had been replaced with a pleased smile.

"So, Lucas," Missy began as she took a step towards him. "Are you doing anything within the next hour? Some of my friends and I are heading to the movies."

He narrowed his eyes. "What is the matter with you?"

Missy cocked her head. "Beg your pardon?"

"Why would you say things like that about Riley? Especially since she was right here! Do you even know what kind of a person Riley is? Did you even bother to know her at all? Or did you just judge from a distance?"

Missy shrugged and didn't take much consideration in answering the question. Personally, she didn't get why Lucas was reacting the way he was; Riley was a nobody. She always has been, and she always will be. Why he cared about what happened to her, Missy had no clue. "I've gotten up close and personal with her."

"I highly doubt that."

Missy acted like she didn't hear his last comment, for she continued her argument. "Look, you don't deserve to be around people like her. Granted there aren't that many, but still. Lucas, you have the potential to one of the populars like me! You have the looks; all you need to do is act the part!"

"Well I'm not interested in it, thank you very much!" Lucas replied before he headed in the same direction that Riley did a few minutes ago, leaving Missy all alone in the hallway with a look of surprise now on her face.

Lucas rounded the corner, hoping that Riley was in her usual spot that she often sat with Maya, but she wasn't there. He continued to jog down the hallway, making sure to look in the classrooms as he went by them. Riley wasn't in any of them.

When Lucas returned to where he originally started, he was very confused. Riley wasn't anywhere to be found; it was as if she disappeared into thin air. He checked all the classrooms, the library, and the gym. She was nowhere to be found, but he had an idea of who might know.

He pulled out his phone and sent a text to Maya.

_Mockingbird, Riley took off. Checked all the classrooms, library, and gym and I can't find her. Any ideas?_

After a couple of minutes, Maya's response came in.

**Try the girls' locker room, locker 23. Be there in a few minutes to help ya, stuck in detention :P**

Lucas sighed when he read Maya's text. Even though it was after school, he kind of didn't want to go in there. He shook off the fear and inhaled deeply. If Riley was in there, he'd go in there for her. He would do almost anything for her. Lucas slid his phone back into his pocket and headed for the locker room.

Once he was inside, Lucas walked around quietly, making sure not to startle anyone else who may have been in there (which there wasn't luckily for him), and made his way towards the back of the locker room. Once he reached the back wall, Lucas found a locker halfway opened. He walked up to the locker and slowly opened the door, hoping that it would get Riley's attention.

If it did, Riley made no motion towards it. Lucas looked inside the locker, and what he saw made his heart break slightly. Riley had managed to curl most of her body inside the locker. Lucas knew that Riley was small, but he never realized that she was that small. Her arms rested on top of her knees, and her face was buried into her arms. Her small frame was jerking every few seconds, most likely from Riley trying to control the sobs. Despite knowing her for only a few weeks, Lucas cared for Riley very deeply and felt that she shouldn't be going through this alone.

Lucas knelt down beside the locker. "Riley?"

Riley froze for a moment. "What do you want?" she finally replied, her voice not revealing any emotion at all.

"Come out of the locker."

Riley shook her head.

"Please?" he asked softly.

Lucas saw Riley's body deflate slightly as if she was letting out a sigh. After a few more moments, Riley worked her way out of the locker, but immediately curled herself back into a ball. Lucas shut the locker door and took Riley into his arms. At first, her body seemed a bit stiff, like she wasn't expecting something, but she soon relaxed in his arms and buried her face into his chest.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," Lucas soothed. "Everything's going to be okay."

But Riley shook her head. "No it's not. Everything's _not _going to be okay."

"And why's that?" Lucas inquired.

Riley shifted herself and inhaled deeply. "Because Missy Bradford has been bullying me for years about the same thing, whether it be verbal or physical, and she's not going to stop. No matter how I try and tell her the reasons for my actions, she scoffs and continues. She doesn't know the pain I've been through! I barely have any friends; I feel so alone here despite the crowded hallways. People who I thought were my friends don't care about me. They take advantage of my kindness and then leave me hanging. They have their fun events afterschool and invite everyone in the friend group, including Maya! But do they invite me? Almost never, even though they talk about the events right in front of me. And when they do invite me, they treat me like I'm not even there despite my efforts to fit in. They say things that hurt me so, and when I try to defend myself, they act as if what they said was only a joke, when I know better. I'm so afraid to trust anyone anymore because I'm so afraid that they'll just leave me when I need them most!"

Once the words spilled out of her mouth, Riley's eyes widened. She told him. Riley only knew him for a few weeks, and she told him. But for some odd reason, Riley felt that she could trust with the information.

Lucas gently moved his hand up and down her arm as he absorbed what Riley just said. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask, but all he could find the words to say was, "So that's what you wouldn't tell me at first."

Riley nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you mind if I ask you something?"

Riley's shoulders slumped as if she didn't want to talk about it anymore, but nodded anyway, allowing Lucas to continue.

"What did you mean by Missy bullying you physically?" he asked. Lucas knew that bullies sometimes picked fights, but Missy didn't appear to be the type of person to go around hitting people.

Riley bit her lip as she tried to find the words to answer Lucas' question, but she didn't need to. A voice in front of them answered. "She tried to cut off Riley's ear."

Both Riley and Lucas shifted their focus to see Maya standing in front of them.

"What?!"

Maya shrugged. "It's like I said. Missy cornered Riley and tried to cut a piece of her ear off with a pair of scissors," she repeated as she sat herself down next to Riley.

"Why?"

"Because it's Missy," Riley finally said. "She does whatever she can to make my life miserable."

Lucas frowned. "You can't let people like that get to you."

"Lucas is right, Riles," Maya commented. "The only people that matter are those that care about you… which is us!"

"No matter what, we'll always be here for you. No matter what time it is, or what happens, you can always count on us being there," Lucas finished.

"I know… but I feel like I'd be bothering you if I tried to talk to you! Everyone else feels that way."

"Riley Matthews!" Maya exclaimed. "How in the world am I – we – going to help you if you don't talk to us? Don't you _ever _think that again! You've pulled me out of my own troubles; don't let these people drag you down because of their idiotic behavior. They're not us. I know technology sometimes interferes, but you have to try! And now, you have Cowboy over here if you can't reach me. Just don't do this to yourself anymore, okay?"

There was a brief silence before Riley answered. "I know what you're saying is true, but why don't I feel any better?"

"It's not like flipping a switch," Lucas explained. "I don't know how long you've felt this way, from what I gathered it's been quite a while, but you're going to need time to heal. And we'll be there with you to help you through."

A small smile crept across Riley's lips. _Now that's what I like to see, _Lucas thought.

"Thanks guys."

Maya returned the smile. "No problem. Now why don't we get out of here before volleyball practice lets out, especially for Lucas' sake?"

All three friends agreed, and made their way out of the locker room. Once they were in the hallway, Lucas wrapped his arm around Riley's shoulder.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked as the three of them walked towards the doors.

Riley shrugged. "I don't know," she responded, her voice faltering slightly as she did so.

Maya placed her hand on Riley's arm. "You want us to stay with you for a while?"

She nodded. "If it's okay with you guys."

"Of course it is," Maya responded.

"Amen to that," Lucas agreed.

_**A/N #2: So what did you think? Missy's plan attempted and failed. But, will Lucas and Maya reaching out help Riley? Let me know what you think by leaving a review! Until next time!**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Alright, time for a fun chapter, along with more Farkle! :)**_

After the Matthews finished their dinner, Riley plopped herself on the couch and opened her latest literary obsession: _The Voyage of the Dawn Treader._ She began rereading the first four books in the Narnia series earlier that week, but her current read was probably her favorite out of the series. It was hard to choose a favorite out of any series, or any book that she liked for that matter, but she felt a special connection to this tale.

Riley didn't get five pages in before a voice came over the intercom, "Hey losers, it's Maya and co!"

She turned to face her parents, who were in the kitchen drying dishes, and shrugged as she headed over to the intercom. "Come on up."

"I take it you weren't expecting her tonight," Mrs. Matthews replied to her daughter.

"Doesn't stop her, not that I mind," Riley commented.

The door opened soon after Riley finished her sentence to reveal Maya, Farkle, and Lucas. When she saw who all was there, Riley froze. She never thought she would see Lucas here ever. Granted, Maya probably asked him to come along, but still.

"Hey mom, hey dad," Maya greeted.

Both Cory and Topanga smiled. "Hey Maya," Topanga replied. "How is our 'adopted daughter' doing?"

"Pretty good, Mrs. M," she smiled. "Do you mind if we kidnap Riley for a while?"

Cory and Topanga looked at each other. "I don't see why not," Cory began. "It's a Friday night and we don't have anything going on. Just have her back by ten, Maya."

"No problem, Mr. Matthews. Come on, Riles."

Riley nodded as she slipped on her converse and put on her jean jacket. "I'll see you later," she said to her parents and followed her friends out the door. They headed down the stairs and down the street, the sun setting behind the buildings off in the distance.

"Not that I don't mind this, but what is this about?" Riley asked.

Maya shrugged. "We thought that you might enjoy some time out and about with us."

Riley smiled. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Maya responded. "Thank Cowboy over there. It was his idea."

Lucas and Riley made eye contact with each other. Once Riley gazed into his emerald eyes, she felt herself start to blush. Seeing this made Lucas smile, she looked so cute that way. Actually, Lucas thought she looked cute at any time. Riley opened her mouth to thank him, but someone else's voice interrupted her moment.

"So, what's the game plan for tonight?" Farkle asked, stepping closer to Maya as he spoke.

Maya slowly turned her head towards Farkle. "Space…" Maya deadpanned. Farkle listened and took a step back from her.

"We're heading to the movies first, then some bowling, then possibly to Svorski's for a late snack."

Riley nodded as she looked back up at Lucas. "That sounds good to me."

They continued on down the street in silence, except for the occasional banter between Maya and Farkle. Whenever this happened, Riley couldn't help but shake her head. She was waiting for the day that those two would finally get together; only time will tell whether that happens or not.

After a few more moments, they reached the cinema. "Which one do you want to watch, Riles? Your pick."

Riley looked over the movie posters that were standing in front of the ticket counter. Even though there were several new interesting movies being shown, she was drawn to something else.

"Call me crazy, but I would like to see the rerelease of The Lion King."

Lucas nodded as he pulled out his wallet and stepped up to the ticket counter. "The Lion King it is," he announced as he purchased the tickets. The four friends purchased their snacks and headed to the theater. They had arrived a few minutes late, so they were hoping that there would still be seats for all of them to sit together, but when they entered, the whole room was empty. Riley, Lucas, Farkle, and Maya started laughing as they sat down in the front row, realizing they had worried over nothing.

As the cartoon before the main feature played, Farkle took this time to talk to Maya, probably to see what his chances were for taking her out on a date. Riley just sat in her seat silently, slowly eating her popcorn that sat in her lap. It wasn't long until she felt someone's gaze upon her, so she turned to see where it was coming from. Her eyes met with Lucas'.

He smiled at her. "Hey."

"Hey," she replied, returning the smile.

"Having fun so far?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah, no one has ever really done this for me before."

The movie started soon after, and throughout the film, everyone found themselves singing along to all the songs. When Mufasa's death came, Riley found herself trying to fight tears. This never happened before, so it shocked her to find herself so emotional. Lucas looked down at her out of the corner of his eye during that scene and saw her eyes starting to glisten. Without thinking, Lucas placed his hand on hers to offer her some comfort. The action must have startled Riley, for she pulled her hand away fairly quickly and looked up at him with confused eyes. Lucas apologized silently, but Riley shook her head and placed her hand back on the arm rest, allowing Lucas to place his hand on top of hers again.

After the movie finished, all four of them threw out their popcorn bags and soda cups, and then headed out of the theater. Once they were on the street, Maya looked down at her watch. "He Riley, it's after eight. You know what that means?"

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Should I?"

Maya laughed. "Yes silly! It means glow bowling at the bowling alley!"

A huge smile spread across Riley's face. "Yes! We haven't gone glow bowling in a long time!"

"It was as if it was planned that way," Maya responded with a smirk upon her lips.

"Was it?"

Maya shrugged. "I'm not saying a word," she teased.

Riley shook her head. "It doesn't matter if it was or not. I'm just having a good time."

The four of them entered the bowling lanes and looked around. The overhead lights were already turned off, and the disco balls and multi colored lights were performing a fantastic show. All of them picked up some bowling shoes and headed towards lane 13.

"Team play!" Farkle called. "I'm on Maya's team! And you two are going down!" he bragged.

Maya rolled her eyes and turned to Riley. "I don't have a choice in this matter, do I?"

Riley shook her head. "Doesn't look like it."

Maya turned back to Farkle. "Fine, but the next game there's no teams, and I'm going to take you down."

Farkle grinned. "You think that."

"Oh, it's on."

While Maya and Farkle were arguing, Lucas took the liberty of entering their names into the computer system. "Alright Maya, you're first."

Maya stepped up to the line and gave it all she had, which resulted in a spare. After the first round, Maya and Farkle's team were down (thanks to Farkle faltering and excellent bowling from both Riley and Lucas). The entire game seemed to be like that for team Maya and Farkle. Maya had a great game, but Farkle didn't, much to Maya's dismay. Lucas and Riley ended up beating them pretty badly.

"Okay, time for free for all," Maya growled as she glared at Farkle. "If you bowl the same way you did during that game, I shouldn't have any problem beating you."

Farkle shrugged. "We'll see. Why don't you say we make a bet?"

Maya shook her head. "Fat chance."

"What's wrong, afraid you'll lose?"

Riley's eyes widened. "Maya, don't buy into it."

Maya turned to face Farkle. "And what would that bet be?"

"This will be interesting," Lucas whispered.

Riley nodded in agreement. "That it will be."

Farkle grinned. "If I beat you, you go out with me once. If you win, then I won't bother you about that ever again."

"Uh oh," Riley said.

Maya bit her lip, but reluctantly nodded. "It's a deal."

OoOoO

Everyone bowled their best game, and determining the victor of Maya and Farkle's deal came down to the last round. On Maya's last turn, it looked as if she was going to get a spare to guarantee her win over Farkle. However, her wrist shifted slightly, resulting in the ball ending up in the gutter. Then came Farkle's turn. He ended up throwing a strike, beating her by one pin.

Once the final pin fell, Farkle turned around and had a huge smirk on his face. As he walked up to Maya, the smirk grew. "How does next weekend sound for our date?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "Yeah sure, let's go."

Riley walked over to Maya as Farkle put on his regular shoes. "You should have listened to me," she commented.

"I know… I know," Maya said, not sounding so disappointed that she had a date with him.

Riley raised an eyebrow. "Did you plan for that to happen?"

Maya shrugged. "We'll never know," she replied, somewhat dodging the question as she headed up the steps.

The rest of the group followed Maya, dropped off their bowling shoes, and made their way towards Svorski's.

Once inside the little bakeshop, Farkle turned to the group. "Who wants what? It's on me!"

Maya wanted a blueberry pastry and a vanilla chai, while both Lucas and Riley just ordered a hot chocolate. Riley and Lucas headed towards a booth while Maya went up with Farkle to help with the food and drinks.

The two were fairly silent as they waited for Farkle and Maya to get back. There was the occasional small talk, but other than that the only thing that was exchanged between the two were quick glances at each other.

Thankfully, Maya and Farkle walked over towards them and interrupted the awkward silence. "Hey guys, we're going to have to head out now if we want to get Riley home in time."

The two of them stood up, took their drinks from Maya, and headed out the door. It wasn't long until they reached the Matthews' apartment, and all four of them were laughing at a story Maya had told.

Riley turned to face her friends and smiled. "Thanks for tonight, guys. It was really fun."

"No problem, my plant," Maya responded. "We'll see you on Monday."

"Sounds good," Riley replied as she headed up the stairs and into her apartment.

_**A/N #2: Hope you enjoyed it! If you could leave a review before heading out that would be great, even if it's just one word. Until next time!**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: So this chapter was probably my least favorite to write. To me, what I saw in my mind didn't translate into words very well, but I hope you still enjoy it.**_

*One Week Later*

Cory walked up behind his beautiful wife, who was making popcorn on the stovetop, and wrapped his arms around her waist as he nuzzled his face into her neck. Once his lips met her neck, Topanga let out a soft giggle.

"Cory," she scolded playfully. "Unless you want burnt popcorn for our family night then you better cut that out."

"I don't care, let it burn," was his reply.

"You may not care, but the kids do… and they will be very disappointed if they can't find any non-burned kernels."

"Let them make their own," Cory scoffed. "They're old enough to know how."

"Cory…" she dragged out.

Cory reluctantly obeyed his wife and rested his head on her shoulder. "You're no fun," he pouted.

Topanga smirked. "I know, now would you go melt the butter for me, please?"

He nodded. "As you wish."

As the two parents finished getting the snacks made for movie night, the intercom buzzed. "Maya."

Riley jogged into the living room and buzzed her best friend in. "Thanks for inviting Maya over tonight," she said as she turned to face her parents.

"You don't need to thank us, sweetie," Mrs. Matthews replied. "Maya is like another member of the family, she should be here."

Mr. Matthews nodded. "Is there ever a time she's not here?" he joked.

"Ha, ha… very funny, dad," Riley responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Maya entered the apartment with a smirk on her face. "It may not seem like that, Mr. M, but it's true," she teased back.

Mr. Matthews smiled. "How's it going, Maya?"

"Pretty good," she dragged out. "So, what's on the agenda for family night tonight?"

"Movie night," Topanga responded as she drizzled the melted butter over the popcorn. "Today's Auggie's pick so we're watching one of his favorites, _Secondhand Lions_."

"Good pick," Maya replied.

It was at this time that Auggie decided to hop into the living room, eager for family night to begin. "Thanks, Maya!" he exclaimed as he continued to bounce over to the couch and threw himself onto the cushions.

Riley rolled her eyes at her brother as Maya couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, you laugh," Riley began as she crossed her arms. "You don't have to live with him every day."

"Exactly why I laugh," Maya retorted with a huge smile spread across her lips.

Mrs. Matthews picked up the huge bowl of popcorn and walked into the living room while Mr. Matthews followed close behind with some smaller bowls in hand. "Alright you two, let's get ready to watch this movie."

The two teens joined the rest of the family in the living room, filled one of the smaller bowls, and took it to one of the big arm chairs for their enjoyment throughout the film. Riley curled up on the seat while Maya sat on the arm of the chair and leaned on the back of it.

"Are you okay like that?" Riley asked.

Maya nodded. "Yep, I'm fine."

"Alright, if you say so."

The room was silent except for the occasional munching of popcorn as the movie played. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the time, but Cory, for some reason, decided to make what he thought would be a casual comment. "So Riley," he began. "I've noticed how much time you've spent with Lucas over the past couple months."

Riley released her breath, feeling completely deflated. _Why must he go there?_ she thought. "Yeah, so? We're friends."

Cory made eye contact with his daughter. "Is that all there is between you?"

Riley set the bowl of popcorn on the table and ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "Dad, why are you doing this? We're just friends, okay? Can't I be friends with a guy without having any feelings for him? I mean, come on… look at mom and Uncle Shawn. They've always been friends."

Her father gave Riley an unconvinced look. "Riley, not once did your mom look at Shawn the way you look at Lucas. Your comparison would fit closer to Maya and Lucas, not you and him."

"Cory," Topanga jumped in.

Riley rung her hands and looked down. "Dad, can we just drop it? Please? I'm not in the mood to talk about this right now," she begged.

Her father nodded. "Alright. I'm sorry, Riley. I didn't mean to corner you."

He watched his daughter shrug. "It's okay," she replied quietly.

The rest of movie went by rather quietly, and the tension in the room seemed to increase slightly as each minute passed by. Riley was rather thankful when the movie ended, for when the end credits started to roll, she quickly stood up and announced, "I'm going to walk Maya home," as she headed to her room to grab her coat.

Even though he was already in enough hot water with Riley, Mr. Matthews decided to try and ask Maya some questions about Mr. Friar. "Maya, have you noticed anything happening between Riley and Mr. Friar?"

Maya froze once she stood up from her chair. She was the only one that knew that the two had feelings for each other, what was she supposed to do now?

"They're just friends," she replied, but her confidence waivered as she did so. Maya never did like lying to Mr. Matthews; she considered him to be more of a father than hers ever was.

Cory raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?" he asked.

"Look, Mr. M, I can't tell you what Lucas thinks," she replied. What she said was mostly true. Maya wasn't a mind reader, but she did know how he felt towards her. Right now, she just hoped Mr. Matthews would take it in the way she intended it to be.

Luckily he nodded, "Okay, I believe you. But if anything happens between them, you'll let me know?"

Maya nodded. "You'll be the first one."

"Thanks Maya," he replied as he began to clean up and headed into the kitchen.

Maya slowly let out a breath of relief just as Riley entered the room again. "You ready to go?" she asked.

The blonde nodded. "Yep. Thanks for inviting me again," she called to Riley's parents.

"No problem, Maya. You know you're welcome here at any time," Topanga replied.

The two best friends headed out the door and down the steps. And for the first time in years, Maya was thankful to be leaving the Matthews' apartment.

_**A/N #2: Whatcha think? Please let me know! Until next time!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N: Special chapter for you Faya shippers out there. Enjoy!**_

Maya looked at herself in her full length mirror. She was wearing a pale pink dress that stopped at her knees with a faux leather jacket overtop along with black heeled booties for her date with Farkle. Maya wasn't one for dressing up, especially for this time of year. She looked out the window and sighed. It was a mild day for November, but it was still colder than she would have liked it. She focused her attention back to her reflection and grimaced. _I'm going to freeze,_ she thought. _Thanks Farkle._

Usually when she went out on dates, the guys would take her someplace cheap for dinner, a diner if she was lucky, then they would be off to the movies. This time was different. All she knew was that Farkle wanted her to dress up a bit, what they were doing however, he made sure to keep her in the dark about.

Maya went to the other side of her room and sat in front of her vanity to put the final touches on her make up. Farkle would be there soon, and she wanted to look her best. After a couple of minutes, Maya set down her things and looked at herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but shake her head.

_Why haven't we done this sooner? _she thought to herself. _For a reputation that only exists in the minds of my classmates? My own fears?_ Maya rested her head in her hands. _Better late than never, I guess._

After a few silent moments, Maya's phone vibrated. She looked down to see that the message was from Farkle, letting her know that he was outside her apartment. Maya stood up from her chair, grabbed her phone and keys, and headed out of the apartment to meet her date.

He was standing at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in a powder blue button down shirt and dress pants with his suit jacket draped over his arm. Farkle's eyes watched Maya as she walked down the stairs towards him, looking more beautiful than ever.

Once she reached to bottom of the stairs, Farkle cleared his throat. "Hey, M-Maya," he stammered slightly.

Maya gave him a small smile. "Hey."

"Are you ready?"

Maya nodded and allowed him to lead her out onto the sidewalk and down the street. "So, are you finally going to tell me where we're going for our date or are you going to keep leaving me in the dark?"

"Well, I guess I can tell you where we're going for the first half. I made reservations for us at Embers*."

Maya halted in her tracks, causing Farkle to snap back a bit. "Farkle, I can't let us go there."

Farkle raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Maya gave him a look. "It's too expensive, especially for two teens."

"It's on me, Maya. Don't worry about it. Okay?"

Maya reluctantly agreed and followed Farkle the rest of the way to the restaurant. Once they were there, the hostess led them to their table and left them alone for a while to look over the menu. Their waitress soon came, took their drink order, and then returned a few minutes later for their meal orders. After she left to bring the orders back to the kitchen, both Maya and Farkle began to enjoy their time together.

At first they were talking about little things, but when their food came out, Farkle decided to take things to a different level. "Hey Maya?"

Maya took a sip of her drink. "Yeah?"

Farkle nervously twirled his fork in his hand as he spoke. "I was honestly surprised that you accepted my bet last week. How long have I hinted that I wanted to go out with you? Quite some time? And all it took was a silly bet?"

Maya sighed as she set her glass down. She had no idea how to explain this, but somehow she found the words. "Farkle, I've had feelings for you about as long as you have been trying to ask me out. I tried to hide them from myself, and I don't know why. When you made the bet, I thought there was a chance that I'd lose, but when it came to the last round, I needed to mess up and you needed to get a strike to win. So, I threw the game."

Farkle raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you wanted me to win so we could go out?"

Maya nodded slowly. "Yeah."

"But you looked so sure you were going to win. What would have happened if you did win?"

She shrugged. "We'll never know." Maya focused her attention back onto her date, who looked fairly stunned. "Farkle? Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I just never would have thought that you, of all people, would actually like a nerd like me."

Maya smiled. "Well, believe it because it's true. Besides, sometimes the nerd gets the girl**"

The two finished their meals in a comfortable silence. Once both their dishes were cleared and the check was paid, Farkle led Maya out of the restaurant and headed down the street.

"So, anything else planned for the night?" Maya asked.

Farkle reached into his back pocket, pulled out two thin pieces of paper, and held them under the moonlight. "I figured we'd go here."

Maya took the slips of paper from Farkle's hand and looked at what was written on them. "Front row seats to the Celtic Woman concert tonight?! Farkle, how did you get these? It's been sold out for weeks!"

"My dad. I knew they were your favorite group, so my dad was able to get them for me. How he did that, I have no clue."

"It doesn't matter. Thank you."

The two of them headed into the auditorium and found their seats. Maya was simply in awe at how close they were. The time from when they entered to when the show began didn't seem to take long at all, which pleased Maya. She didn't care for waiting at all.

OoOoO

Maya and Farkle stood outside of her apartment after the show. Both of them really enjoyed it, especially when the members of the group mingled with the audience.

"Thanks again for tonight," Maya said. "It was really nice."

Farkle smiled at her. "You're welcome. Maybe we could do it again sometime?"

"Well, maybe not the same thing, but sure."

His eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Yes," Maya laughed. "Well, I'll see you on Monday."

"Alright," he nodded. "See you then!" Farkle replied just before he headed down the street towards his apartment.

A huge smile came over Maya's lips as she headed into the apartment. That night was simply amazing, and she couldn't wait to see him again.

_***Embers is actually a restaurant about 5 miles from my house; pretty sure it's the only one, but I couldn't think of a better restaurant name. They have pretty good food and a great atmosphere, so I thought it would fit their date :)**_

_**** 'sometimes the nerd gets the girl': line borrowed from another favorite TV show that I like, Chuck. And the episode it's taken from just happens to have Ben Savage as a guest star (2x04 Chuck vs the Cougars).**_

_**A/N #2: Hope you liked it! Plenty of Riley/ Lucas coming in the next chapter :)**_


	14. Chapter 14

**_A/N: Hey all! Who's excited for a new Girl Meets World tonight?! I know I am! Now for a little something to hold you over until that time :)_**

*One Week Later*

Riley sat in the corner of her room with her copy of _Hamlet_ clutched in her hands. However, she wasn't able to read it through the tears she tried to hold in. For some reason, Riley had woken up in a depressed mood, feeling very lost and utterly alone; more so than she had in the previous weeks. It didn't help that when she looked out the window, dark storm clouds were blanketing the city. The pelting rain began an hour or so ago. Usually the rain made Riley feel at ease, but not this time. All she saw was the world reflecting her dark mood.

For what seemed to be the hundredth time, Riley picked up her phone and opened a text message to both Lucas and Maya, but like the previous times, she closed out of the message. She didn't want to bother them over nothing. Riley didn't even know why she was feeling the way she was, why bring it up? It would go away, eventually.

A loud tapping coming from her window interrupted her thoughts. Riley looked up to see Lucas standing on the other side, dripping wet.

Riley set her book on the floor, walked to her window, and opened it for Lucas to come inside. "Lucas, what are you doing here?" she asked as he climbed into her room.

Lucas wiped some water droplets off his nose with the sleeve of his jacket. "I don't know, felt as if I needed to be here for some reason," he responded. Once the words were out of his mouth, Lucas felt like that was a stupid reason, but when he took a closer look at Riley he realized his explanation may have been warranted. "Are you okay?" he asked when he saw her reddened eyes.

Riley quickly wiped her eyes with her sweater sleeve. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied rather quickly.

"I highly doubt that," he retorted.

"I'm going to go get you a towel so you can dry off," Riley announced as if she didn't hear what Lucas said. She left her room and returned a few moments later. "Here," she said as she handed him the towel.

"Thanks," Lucas replied as he took it and began to dry himself off as much as he could.

"Do you realize what my dad could do to you if he found out you were in here?" Riley asked.

Lucas set the towel down on the window seat and looked into Riley's eyes. "What's wrong?" he inquired, not bothering to answer the obvious question Riley had asked. He knew perfectly well what Mr. Matthews could and _would_ do if he knew Lucas was in there. But right now, he was willing to take that risk.

"Nothing," Riley responded as she wrapped her arms around herself and turned away from him.

Lucas walked up to her, turned her around, and rested his hands on her arms. "It must be something if it has you this upset."

Riley breathed in deeply to try and keep more tears from spilling over, but she failed and they began to spill over like the rain outside.

Lucas led her over to the window seat and wrapped his arms around her. Riley buried her face into her shoulder and let the tears fall. What else could she do?

For now, Lucas just let her cry. He knew she would talk about what's wrong once she settled down a bit.

After a few minutes, Lucas brought her in closer and kissed the top of her head. "It's okay, it'll be alright."

Right after the words came from his mouth, Lucas saw the bedroom door open and Mr. Matthews stepped inside. Lucas felt his stomach drop as he looked at Riley's father. When he stepped in, Lucas saw the face of a protective father ready to take action on the young man that was in his daughter's room. Fear gripped Lucas' heart, but his decision to come into Riley's room was one he'd stand by. But once Mr. Matthews saw what was actually going on, his expression softened to one of concern. He remained in the doorway for a few more moments before he headed out and shut the door behind him, leaving the two teens alone.

After a few more moments, Riley finally managed to control her tears. She sat back up, shifted away from Lucas slightly (allowing his arm to drop from her shoulder), and wiped the tears stains from her cheek. "Sorry about that," Riley mumbled as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

Lucas shook his head gently. "Don't be. But what has you so upset?"

Riley sighed. "It honestly is nothing… kind of. I just woke up feeling depressed and alone, that's all."

"That doesn't sound like nothing to me. Why didn't you try getting ahold of me or Maya? We could have helped you get through this. You know how much we care about you," Lucas replied.

"I tried," Riley explained. "I just convinced myself it was nothing and deleted the message."

Lucas frowned. "You know that we still would have come."

Riley shook her head. "No, I don't. It's hard to think that when you've been trained to think that no one outside your family cares about you or how you feel for several years," she hissed through gritted teeth. Once she realized what she said and how she said it, Riley buried her face in her hands.

Lucas moved one of Riley's hands and took ahold of it. "Riley, you know that you can text or call me about _anything_. I don't like it when you're upset. Don't let those who don't care about you govern your life. The people that matter are those that stay with you through thick and thin, through all the ups and downs, and are willing to sacrifice anything to help you. And to be honest, those people have no clue what they're missing."

Riley bit her lip. "Why does this sound rather familiar?"

"Because Maya said something along those lines last month. And I happen to agree with her."

Riley sighed. "I know you guys are… you're right, but sometimes I can't help feeling this way! It just happens and I can't find a way to shake it."

"How many times have you felt this way since last month?"

She shrugged. "A few," she muttered.

"Did you try talking to anyone about it during this time?"

"No, because like today, I thought it was nothing. And usually when I feel like this I go to sleep soon afterwards and when I wake up I'm fine."

"You may feel fine later," Lucas began, "but it doesn't help solve the problem. It'll only resurface."

"What are you, a psychiatrist?" Riley asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lucas chuckled as he shook his head. "No, I'm not, but it's the truth."

Riley leaned against the window frame and let out her breath, still holding onto Lucas' hand. "You're right. I'm sorry that I didn't talk to either you or Maya about this sooner; I'm not used to talking about my struggles. Sure, I talk about them to Maya, but when I can't get ahold of her I just bury them and forget to mention them later."

Lucas lightly stroked his thumb over the back of Riley's hand, causing Riley's heart to flutter. _Doesn't he know that it drives me nuts when he does that?_ she thought.

"It's going to be hard to get used to it at first, but that's what Maya and I are here for, to help make it easier for you."

It was Riley's turn to let out a soft chuckle. "How do you come up with all the right things to say?"

Lucas shrugged. "I don't know, sometimes. Maybe I have some outside help from the Universe."

_**A/N #2: Hope you enjoyed it! If you could leave a review before you head out to let me know what you thought of it that would be great :) Until next time!**_


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N: Enjoy!**_

*One Week Later*

Cory threw the dirty cleaning rag into the garbage can and looked back over the main area of the apartment. Riley was going to have some of her friends over later today, a day before her birthday, for an early celebration, and Topanga enlisted Cory to clean the apartment while she, Riley, and Maya were out picking up the food. Once he was satisfied with his work, Cory began to head into the kitchen, but the sound of the intercom made him pause.

"Anyone there? It's Lucas."

Cory raised an eyebrow as he looked at his watch. There was still about an hour until the party officially started. _So why is Lucas here now?_ Mr. Matthews walked over to the speaker box and pressed the button, "Mr. Friar, you do realize that you're a bit early?"

"Yes, I know that, sir," the teen replied. There was a brief pause before Lucas continued. "Is Riley there?"

Mr. Matthews shook his head despite the fact that Lucas wasn't able to see the movement. "No, not right now. If you need to talk to her before the party, try coming back in forty-five minutes. She should be back then." He turned to head back into the apartment, but once again the sound of Lucas' voice made him stop in his tracks.

"I didn't come to talk to Riley, sir… I was hoping I could talk to you about something."

Once again Cory was confused. Why would Lucas want to talk to him? "Sure, come on up."

Within a few moments, Lucas entered through the apartment door and greeted his history teacher.

"What can I help you with, Mr. Friar?" Cory asked. "I can't do anything about your test grade, you have what you have," he joked.

Lucas shook his head while a small smile spread across his lips. "No sir, I was quite happy with my score."

"Good," the academic replied. "You had the highest score out of all my classes; you wrecked the curve."

Lucas let out a soft, nervous chuckle. "Anyway, the reason why I'm here is because I'd like your permission to date Riley."

Cory's eyes widened involuntarily once he processed the question that he heard from the teen standing in front of him. He never though any guy that was interested in Riley would ask for his permission. Heck, he didn't even ask Topanga's parents when they started going out. "W-Why are you asking me this?" he asked as his mouth tripped over the words.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't I, sir?"

"Because you don't see that much anymore, especially around here. Majority of the time, teens will start dating and won't care about their parents' opinion, even if it would benefit them in the long run."

Lucas nodded. "I know, but that's not how I was brought up. I believe that the parents' thoughts do matter, and it's important that I get your approval."

Cory nodded as well. "Well, you have it."

"Really?"

Mr. Matthews nodded again. "I can see that you two really care about each other. As much as I don't want Riley to grow up, I can't deny that she's been the happiest I've seen her in a long time when she's with you. I have to accept the fact that she's a young lady now."

Lucas smiled. "Thank you, sir."

Cory returned the smile as he looked back down at his watch. "Since you're here early, Mr. Friar, would you mind helping me decorate?"

"I'd be happy to."

OoOoO

Mrs. Matthews, Riley, and Maya headed up the stairs to the apartment, carrying everything that was needed for the party. A sheet pizza, a couple boxes of wings, chips, soda, and of course the cake. How they were able to get it all up to the apartment in one trip, Riley had no clue. She thought for sure one of them would end of falling, but luckily no one did.

Riley's mom opened the apartment door and everyone headed inside. "Hey Cory," Topanga called out. "We're back!"

Mr. Matthews walked over to the door and took some of the things that his wife was carrying. "Hey, how did it go?" he asked as they made their way to the kitchen.

"Pretty good. Got everything we needed and then some. Hopefully it will be enough to feed all of them," she replied as they all carefully set down the different boxes and bags in the kitchen.

Once Riley set down what she was carrying on the kitchen table, she looked around the apartment. Everything was beautifully decorated. But she saw something, or rather someone, that caught her off guard.

"Lucas? What are you doing here? Well, I-I mean I knew you were coming but I didn't expect to see you this early."

Lucas smiled as he listened to Riley try to explain herself. It seemed that every day he'd find a new reason to fall for her. "I had a few things to do earlier. I got done with them sooner than expected so I decided to come by early and ended up helping your dad do the decorating."

"Aw, look at Cowboy being all sweet," Maya teased.

Riley blushed slightly and smiled. "Thank you."

As the three friends continued talking, Cory took ahold of Topanga's arm and led her out of the room. While he did so, Topanga gave him a questioning look that Cory didn't bother in responding until they were out of ear shot of the three teens.

"Cory, what is this about?"

"Lucas stopped by earlier today," he began.

"Isn't that what he just said?"

Cory nodded, "Yeah, but the reason why he did was to ask permission to date Riley."

Topanga's eyes widened slightly, not because she was shocked to hear that Lucas asked permission, but because she was worried about how Cory responded. "Well, what did you tell him?"

Her husband let out a sigh before responding. "I told him that he has my permission."

Topanga placed a hand on his shoulder. "Good. Do you know when he plans to ask her?"

Cory shook his head. "That he did not, but I know she's going to say yes."

"That she will," Topanga agreed. "Now, let's get back out there and celebrate our daughter's birthday."

The two parents headed back out into the living room and found the three teens laughing away.

"Since pretty much everyone is here, maybe I can try and get Farkle over here earlier," Maya said as she pulled her phone out.

But before Maya could send the text, the intercom buzzed. "Farkle!"

"So much for that idea," Riley commented as she let the last guest in.

It wasn't too long until Farkle had entered the apartment. Once he did, Maya said, "You're late."

Farkle looked down at his watch. "There's ten minutes before it officially started, so you guys are early," he replied as he wrapped an arm around Maya's shoulder.

"Yeah, you think that," she responded, which earned her a poke in the ribs from Farkle, causing her to let out a playful squeal.

"Okay," Topanga called. "Since everyone is here, let's get this party started!"

OoOoO

After the group spent most of the day watching movies, eating, and talking, it was time for cake and presents.

Everyone gathered in the living room, with Riley in the center of the couch and her friends surrounding her. In the center of the coffee table sat the presents they had brought the birthday girl; one wrapped gift and two cards.

Maya picked up the wrapped gift from the table and handed it to Riley. "Mine first!" she announced.

Riley laughed as she took the present from her friend's hands. "Alright, Maya." Once it was in her lap, Riley plucked the ribbon off the top of it and stuck it on top of her head, then continued to unwrap the gift. Inside the box was a couple of Riley's favorite movies, _Ever After_ and _Flika_, along with a few bags of popcorn and candy bars. "Thanks Maya," she smiled as she gave her best friend a hug. "We're going to have to go eat all of this someday."

"Sounds good to me," Maya replied.

After Riley set Maya's present off to the side, she picked up the two cards from Farkle and Lucas. She opened the card from Farkle first, read it, then opened Lucas' card.

Lucas watched her as she opened and read the card from him. He wished he was able to give her something more as he reached into his jacket pocket and wrapped his hand around a velvet box, but now was not the time to give this to her. Lucas wanted to give it to her in a more private moment.

"Thanks everyone, this was really great," Riley said.

Her parents smiled. "No problem, sweetie," Topanga replied. "So, who wants cake?"

And of course, everyone raised their hands.

_**A/N: Ready for some more Riley/ Lucas moments in the next chapter? Until next time!**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**A/N: Thank you so much to all who have helped make this the most successful fic I have ever written! I've never had this many favorites, reviews, follows, and views at this point in the story before. Now, who's ready for some Riley/ Lucas?!**_

Riley and Lucas headed down the sidewalk, enjoying the unusually warm weather for this time of year, after they hung out at Svorski's. There was a comfortable silence between them, or at least it was for Riley. Lucas on the other hand, was trying to control his nerves. Tonight was the night he was going to ask her, but he hadn't found the right moment yet. He was hoping it would happen soon because their night together was going to be coming to an end soon.

Lucas looked down at Riley and noticed her beginning to shiver slightly, thanks to the wind starting to pick up. He removed his jacket and draped it around her shoulders, making sure to carefully remove the velvet jewelry box and slip it into his pants pocket. She appeared to be a bit surprised when she felt the jacket's material on her shoulders, but wrapped it a bit tighter around her so it would fit her petite frame better.

"Better?" he asked.

Riley nodded. "Much better, thank you."

They continued on down the sidewalk, the apartment building coming closer and closer with each step. And as each step came and went, Lucas' nerves kept growing. _When am I going to ask her? I'm running out of time!_

Before he knew it, both he and Riley had reached the steps of the Matthews' apartment. Riley slid Lucas' jacket off of her shoulders and folded it in half. "Here's your jacket back, thanks for letting me use it."

An idea suddenly popped into Lucas' mind as a smile came over his lips and he shook his head slightly. "No, you keep it."

Riley raised an eyebrow as her heart rate increased significantly. _What is going on? What is he thinking?_ "Ah, Lucas… you know what that usually implies, right?"

Lucas nodded, his smile growing into a large grin. "I know what it means."

Riley grew even more confused once she heard Lucas' words. "W-what are you saying?"

Lucas took ahold of Riley's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Riley Matthews, would you give me the honor of becoming my girlfriend, and allow me to take you on a date next weekend?"

Riley's eyes widened as her mouth dropped. If Lucas wasn't able to hear the sound of Riley's heart beating, she would have been shocked. It sounded like one thousand base drums reverberating inside of her. Never did she expect this to happen. _Am I dreaming?_ Riley closed her eyes for a couple of moments and reopened them. _Nope, quite real. This is really happening._

As much as she wanted to accept, she found her mouth tripping over her words. "Ah… wha… what about my dad?"

"I already have his permission."

Tears began to fill Riley's eyes as she gave him her answer, "Y-Yes!"

Lucas smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the velvet jewelry box. "I was going to give this to you the other day when we celebrated your birthday, but I wanted to wait until the right moment to give it to you."

He handed the box to Riley, which she took with shaking hands and was somehow able to open it. Inside laid a silver heart pendant which was adorned with tiny gems as it hung down from its chain.

"Oh my…" Riley responded quietly. She was at an absolute loss for words. All that seemed to come through her mind was either 'oh my' or 'wow'. But instead of saying that, Riley just stood there with her mouth agape, not able to say anything else.

Lucas brought Riley's hand up to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss. "Good night, Riley. I'll talk to you later."

"Good night…" Riley finally was able to say. Lucas gave her one last smile before he headed down the street towards his apartment.

Riley stood on the steps to her apartment for a few more moments, still not able to believe what had just happened. Once she was finally able to move her legs again, Riley felt as if she could float on up the stairs and into the apartment. At first she thought she was, but realized the truth once she tripped on one of the stairs and managed to catch herself before her face hit the corner of the step. Thanks to the slight scare of falling, Riley was able to focus more on getting up to the apartment, but the feeling of being on cloud nine was still very much there.

She entered the apartment and saw her parents sitting in the living room, waiting up for her. Riley continued to glide towards her room, saying "Good night," once she was closer to them.

As they watched their daughter head up to her room, both Cory and Topanga knew what had happened… and both of them were happy that it finally happened.

Once Riley was in her room, she whipped out her cell phone and dialed Maya's number. The dull tone of the phone ringing echoed in her ear as she waited impatiently for Maya to pick up. "Come on Maya, pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up, pick—"

"I'm here," Maya replied on her end. "What's up, Riles?"

"Oh my gosh, Maya! Lucas asked me to be his girlfriend and our first date is next weekend! I'm so excited!"

"Really? I couldn't tell," Maya teased.

"Cut that out!"

"Oh you know I'm teasing you! But I'm happy that things finally happened between you two. Cowboy finally worked up his nerve to ask you."

"Wait, how long have you known?"

"Soon after you told me you liked him. But I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone, so when you're dad started asking questions about him that one night I got real nervous."

Riley smiled. "Oh Maya, I can't believe that it actually happened! I still feel like I'm going to wake up and find out that this was all a dream."

Maya laughed. "Nope, you're awake, and it really happened. So, where do you think he'll take ya next weekend?"

Riley shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really care either, as long as I'm with him I'll be happy."

"I'm sure you will be. I hate to cut this short, but I'm about to fall asleep. I'll talk to you later!"

"Okay, later!"

Riley ended the call and continued to get ready for bed. Her face was beginning to hurt from all the smiling she was doing, but at the moment she didn't care. She slid herself underneath the covers and was about to place her phone on her nightstand when a text message came in.

It was from Lucas.

**Good night city girl, pleasant dreams.**

Riley's smile grew wider (if that was even possible) as she sent her reply.

_Good night, Lucas. See you soon!_

She set her phone on her nightstand and turned off her lamp. Riley's head dropped to her pillow as she let out a pleased sigh. Overall, that day was a great day, and the last thing that Riley thought of before she drifted off to sleep was Lucas.

_**A/N #2: Was that enough Rucas for ya for now? There's more to come soon! Until next time!**_


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N: Alright, time for some Riley and Maya friendship just before the big date :D**_

*One Week Later*

Riley rested her head in her hands as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, still sitting in her bathrobe instead of getting ready for her first date with Lucas. Her stomach was forming knots thanks to her ever growing nerves.

"Riles, shouldn't you be getting ready for your date? Lucas is going to be here in like twenty minutes," Maya asked.

Riley turned to face her best friend, who was sitting in the bay window. "I know I should be; I'm just so nervous… considering I've never been on a date before."

Maya shrugged. "So? It's not like it's a big deal."

Riley nervously ran her hands through her hair, and then let her hands fall into her lap. "I know…" she trailed as her eyes cast down to the floor.

Maya looked at her best friend and crossed her arms. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just nervous something is going to happen; that Lucas will end up hurting me somehow. I know that it won't happen considering everything that he's done for me, but I can't shake the feeling of dread! It's happened so often that it's what I expect of people now. Am I overreacting over this?"

Riley watched as her best friend stood up, walked over to where she was standing, and started brushing her hair. "Out of everything that's happened to you, no, I don't think you're overreacting. I've told you that before, and I'll keep telling that to you. However, I know that everything between you and Lucas will be fine when you're on this date. And if by some slim chance I'm wrong, I'll have someone to take care of," she answered.

She heard her plant started to giggle at her response, which Maya hoped would alleviate some of Riley's distress.

"And if it makes you feel any better, I'll let you in on a secret. I guess I can tell you now since you two are finally going to go out, but Lucas told me that he really started to care about you when you two first met. I don't remember exactly what he said, but when he heard you talking about book characters and friends, he heard your voice crack, and that made his heart break. When he saw you starting to cry, all he wanted to do was fix everything for you.

"He's not going to hurt you, Riley. He cares too much about you to let that happen."

The fear that Riley felt was gradually being replaced with a different feeling as Maya spoke. What that feeling was, Riley had no clue. All she knew was that she liked it and she wanted it to stay.

Riley knew that Lucas cared about her from the moment they first started talking, but she never realized to what extent. "He said that?" she finally asked as she thought out loud.

Maya nodded as she continued to brush Riley's hair. "Yeah. How many friends do you have that can say that?"

Riley looked back down at her hands which were still resting in her lap. "I can count them all on one hand."

"Exactly, and he's one of them. Just between you and me, I think Cowboy's a keeper."

Riley giggled at Maya's comment. "If you're saying that then he must be something else. I've never heard you say that about _anyone_ before."

"Things can change. And don't tell him I said that; I'm still trying to find a way to get to him."

"I don't think you ever will."

She shrugged. "There's no harm in trying."

Maya finally put down the hair brush and divided Riley's hair into three equal parts, putting it into a side braid. Once Maya had tied it off, she held up a smaller mirror for Riley.

"So, whatcha think?"

Riley smiled at her reflection. "I love it, thanks Maya!"

She returned the smile. "So, have you picked out what you're going to wear on this date yet?"

Riley gestured towards her robe. "Does it look like I have?"

Maya laughed as she headed to Riley's closet and opened its doors. "Nope, just wanted to double check."

Riley shook her head. "You've been in here since I've started getting ready."

"True, but I didn't know if you picked it out earlier today. If anything I would have expected you to have chosen it hours ago… where's he taking you?" Maya asked as she looked at the jackets, shirts, and dresses hanging in Riley's closet.

"The roller skating rink," Riley replied as she walked over to the other side of the room and sat down on her bed. "Then after that we're going to head to dinner."

"Then that eliminates dresses," Maya thought out loud. After looking for a couple of more moments, Maya pulled out a pink tee shirt and a white knitted cardigan. She threw them at Riley as she grabbed Riley's brown knee high boots, and then rummaged through her best friend's dresser to get a pair of boot cut jeans for her. Once she found them, she tossed the jeans onto the bed, and placed the boots right next to Riley. "That look good to you?"

Riley nodded. "Sure does. Thanks, Maya."

"No problem; I'll be out in the living room. See you out there."

Once Maya closed the door behind her, Riley quickly changed into her date night clothes, hung up her robe, then wandered over to her mirror. Right next to the wall mirror hung the necklace that Lucas had given her last week. She picked it up from its spot and clasped it around her neck. Ever since she had it, Riley had worn it almost every day.

Now that she was ready, Riley looked at her reflection as her mind started to wander to the stories on how her parents fell in love. They had an instant connection. Sure, her dad pretended not to like her mom when they were in middle school, but neither of them could deny that there was a spark between them. _Who knows,_ Riley thought. _Maybe Lucas and I will be like that, in a way. Guess only time will tell, huh?_

Riley didn't know how long she was lost in thought, but a soft knock brought her out of her daze. The door opened to reveal her mom standing in the doorway.

"Hi honey, Lucas is here. Are you ready?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah, I'll be out in a minute."

Topanga nodded as she closed the door, leaving Riley alone once again.

She turned to face her reflection one last time and let out her breath. _Here goes everything,_ she thought as the nerves and excitement of her first date began to form.

Riley turned on her heel, grabbed Lucas' jacket, and headed out to the living room to greet her date.


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N: Drumroll…..**_

Riley slowly walked into the living room and saw her father talking to Lucas. When she first saw this, Riley's nerves grew. She knew that her dad wasn't quite ready to let her go; he still wanted his little girl all to himself. However, he couldn't stop her from growing up. It was a part of life. As she walked into the living room, she realized that both of them were smiling. Seeing this helped her nerves settled down a bit. Once she was a couple of feet from them, Lucas shifted his focus to her and gave her a smile, which she gladly returned.

From her position on the window seat in the living room, Maya was leaning up against the molding as she watched Riley and Lucas. Even though she had to keep appearances up to protect her best friend, she thought that they were very cute together.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey," Riley replied.

"You ready to go?"

Riley nodded as Lucas helped her with her coat. "I'll see you guys later!" Riley bid to her parents and Maya as the couple headed towards the door.

"Enjoy," Maya commented.

Topanga looked up after she set down the last plate on the table. "Have a good time, you two."

"Make sure to have her back here by ten, Mr. Friar," Cory said to them.

Lucas smiled as he opened the door for Riley. "I will, sir," he replied as the two of them began to head through the door.

Once the door clicked behind the young couple, Topanga turned back into the kitchen to finish getting dinner ready, while Maya stretched out on the window seat and pulled out her phone.

Cory turned to Maya and raised an eyebrow. With Riley off on her date, he assumed that she would have left. He didn't mind having Maya around at all; it was just uncommon for her to be around when Riley wasn't.

"Uh, Maya… please don't take this the wrong way, but is there a reason why you're still here?"

Maya looked up at her phone and smiled at her best friend's father. She always considered him more than a father than her own dad, and not just because he was her best friend's dad. He took the time to make sure she was okay. Sure, he used to be her old teacher, but Mr. Matthews crossed that line between teacher and student with her all the time. He really cared about her well-being.

"My mom's working late tonight, so there's no one home. Do you mind if I stay?"

"Pfft, of course not, Maya," Topanga said. "You don't have to ask."

"Thanks, Mrs. M."

Riley and Lucas headed down the sidewalk, not saying much of anything at the moment which didn't bother either of them. They quite enjoyed spending time in each other's company. After a while, Lucas looked down at Riley, and noticed that she seemed a bit apprehensive. She wasn't her usual bubbly self that he had grown to know.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Riley shrugged. "I guess…" she trailed as the nerves about this date continued to churn her stomach. She never thought she would be this nervous for a date.

"You guess? Come on, Riley, you know you can tell me anything."

"It's nothing, really… I'm just nervous. This is my first date ever, and although I love roller skating, I haven't gone in a few years. I'm afraid I'll make a fool out of myself, like I did last time." Riley thought back to the time when she and Maya went roller skating when they were in ninth grade. She didn't even last five minutes before she had fallen, but luckily it didn't take her that long to get the hang of it again. However, this time was different. Riley was sure that her mind was not going to be focused on skating, but on the guy she was with, so there was a higher probability of her tumbling to the floor.

Lucas smiled. "Don't worry about it, especially about skating. I'll be by your side the entire time."

Riley blushed at Lucas' response as they approached the skating rink. The two of them headed inside, hung up their coats, then proceeded to pick out their skates and headed to the rink. Once their skates hit the floor, Riley's nerves instantly skyrocketed. There were quite a few people at the rink tonight, which meant more chances of her bumping into someone and falling.

The couple began gliding down the rink, side by side. They managed to make one lap around the area before Riley felt herself begin to wobble. _Crap!_ she thought as she felt her balance becoming more and more unsteady.

Before her feet left the ground, Riley felt a strong arm come across her back and a supportive hand clasp around hers. "Don't worry, I got ya," Lucas said as they continued on.

Riley smiled up at him and tried her best not to melt into his arms. Luckily for her, she didn't have enough time before Lucas shifted his position and skating around in front of her, taking both of her hands in his.

"Let's try it this way," he explained as he continued to skate backwards.

Riley playfully rolled her eyes. "Trying to show off?"

Lucas shook his head as he made eye contact with her. "Nope, it's honestly not that hard."

"Sure, for you."

A small smile came over Lucas' lips. "Just focus on your movements while looking forward."

Riley returned the smile. _Keeping my eyes forward won't be a problem, especially if he stays there._

However, it wasn't as easy as Riley thought it was going to be, thanks to a couple of young teens zooming by Riley and Lucas. Their sudden moment startled Riley, sending her off balance and making both Riley and Lucas tumble to the ground. The two of them looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Once the laughter died down, Lucas asked, "So, shall we try that again?"

Riley shook her head. "Nah, I'm for staying down here," she joked.

After struggling for a few minutes, the couple found themselves on their feet again and continued to glide around the arena.

About an hour later, the DJ came over the loud speaker. "Alright, everyone. This next song is going to be couples only! Everyone clear the rink for those lovely couples out there."

Majority of the rink cleared as the starting notes of "Love Me Tender" began to play. The overhead lights dimmed and a show of colored lights began to dance around the arena. Riley looked up at Lucas and blushed as he gently took ahold of her hand.

"Shall we?" he asked.

Riley answered with a silent nod as they slowly began to skate across the floor. To both of them, it felt like they were the only couple out there.

Lucas admired the way the colored lights bounced off of Riley's hair. They seemed to enhance her beauty. How that was possible, Lucas had no clue, for he already thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever met.

As the final notes of the song played, both Riley and Lucas slowed to a stop and looked into each other's eyes, losing themselves in the moment. The next thing they knew, the lights were back up to their normal level, and the rink was once again crowded.

"Up for some dinner?" Lucas asked.

Riley nodded in agreement. "I'd love it."

OoOoO

Riley and Lucas looked at each other after the waiter handed them their drinks, two hot chocolates, and took their food orders. Lucas had taken her to a small diner near Svorski's. He found it soon after he moved here, and was surprised to find out that Riley had never been there. So, he figured it would be a good place to take Riley on their date; the food was great and the service was quite good as well.

"That was so much fun," Riley commented as she wrapped her hands around her mug. "I had forgotten how much skating could be."

Lucas took a sip of his own hot cocoa and smiled. "There's nothing stopping us from going again sometime."

"I'd like that."

They both sat in silence for a few moments, the only noises were the blending of voices from other people's conversations, before Lucas asked, "What other activities are you interested in?"

Riley bit her lip as she thought about it. "Well, there's ice skating, even though I've only done that once. Horseback riding when my parents take me upstate, talking, going for walks, bowling, movies… is this helping any?"

Lucas let out a soft chuckle and nodded his head. "Yes it is. Why wouldn't it?"

"I don't know, because we're currently in the city and quite a few of those don't mix with city living."

"So? We can fix that."

Riley laughed. "Sounds good, but you're going to have to take some of that up with my dad."

"No problem," Lucas replied just as their food was brought out to them.

She shrugged as she took a bite of her grilled chicken Panini. "We'll see about that."

The rest of their meal was filled with playful banters and stories from Lucas of when he was back in Texas.

"So there I was, five years old and driving the tractor up to the house. My mom was ready to scream at my dad for letting me drive that thing, knowing I wouldn't be able to push down the brakes even if I had my full weight on it. But doing like my dad told me, I just turned the key to the off position, and it putted to a stop."

Riley covered her mouth with her hand to try and muffle her laughter. "Did your mom give it to your dad?"

Lucas nodded. "Yeah, but it didn't stop him from letting me drive again. To this day, I still don't think my mom knows that."

"Oh boy, she's going to have a heart attack if she does."

He shrugged. "Maybe," he paused. "You ready to go?"

Riley nodded as she finished her last French fry. "Yep. Let's go."

OoOoO

The young couple headed down the sidewalk, hand in hand, towards the Matthews' apartment. Riley couldn't believe that their night was over already; she had so much fun! As they covered the distance that remained, they finished their date like how it started: just enjoying some silent time together.

It didn't take them long to reach the apartment steps, and when they did, Riley's heart dropped a bit. She didn't want it to end, but she did know that they would have more time together like this.

"Thank you for tonight, Lucas," Riley began. "I had a really good time."

"Me too," he replied. "Would you mind if I called you tomorrow?"

Riley smiled. "I'd love that."

Lucas returned the smile and placed a gentle kiss on her hand. "Until tomorrow. Goodnight, Riley."

"Night, Lucas."

As Lucas turned to head down the street, Riley headed up the steps to her home. Once she entered, she was surprised to see the living room rather dark. Riley would have thought that her dad would have waited up for her. She quietly closed the door behind her and began to tip toe towards her bedroom. As she walked through the living room, she noticed Maya curled up into a ball, still on the window seat, and sleeping.

Riley began to tread extra carefully towards her room, but nearly let out a startled scream when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Thought I was asleep, didn't ya?"

Riley turned around and saw Maya with her head propped up. "Maya!" Riley whispered. "Don't do that to me!"

Maya shrugged. "So, how did it go?"

"Come on, I'll tell you about it in my room."

Maya eagerly hopped up and followed Riley to her bedroom while the two girls giggled with glee as Riley began to tell her best friend what happened.

_**A/N #2: Hope you liked it! The roller skating date comes from one of my favorite movies starring Zachary Levi and Alexis Bledel, Remember Sunday. It's such a great movie and it will make your heart swell. If you could leave a review before you head out that would be great :) Until next time!**_


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N: Hey guys. So there's a reason why I'm posting this chapter a day early. I have a job interview back home tomorrow, and while I don't have to leave until after class, I'm probably going to be running around trying to get things ready so I can just go. Anyway, thank you all so so so much for all the reviews! It means so much to me that you enjoy it. **_

_**Now to pick up where we left off at school:**_

Riley and Lucas walked into the school, side by side, while Maya and Farkle were close behind them for now. Now that Lucas and Riley were together, Maya made him promise that she and Riley would still be able to hang out during homeroom since he had more time with her during the school day. Lucas happily agreed; he knew how important Maya was to Riley, and there was nothing he would do to keep them apart. Maya was there for Riley first, how could he come between that?

Once they stepped inside of the school, Maya and Farkle headed towards the library while the other two headed towards Riley's locker.

"Are you ready for today?" Lucas asked.

Riley shrugged. "If anything, I think I'm ready for it to be the weekend!" she exclaimed as she opened her locker.

Lucas laughed. "We just got back from the weekend. How could you already wish it was the weekend again?"

"Easy, school and I don't get along. Teachers, yes, students, no. That, and I'm looking forward to spending this Saturday with you, Maya, and Farkle."

"Oh yeah, I had forgotten about that," he said sarcastically.

Riley rolled her eyes as she grabbed her binder for her second class of the say. "You're terrible, you know that?"

Lucas shrugged as he smiled at her. "It's a gift."

Riley returned the smile as she shut her locker. "So…" she began, but was cut off before she could finish her sentence.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" an annoying voice said from somewhere behind Riley and Lucas. Lucas felt Riley's back stiffen under his hand once the voice reached their ears. Both of them turned to see Missy standing behind them, her arms crossed in front of her.

"What do you want, Missy?" Lucas asked, not exactly thrilled to see her there.

A devious smile came over Missy's mouth. "Riley, I can't believe that you think Lucas could actually care about you. I mean, he's so out of your league. When are you going to realize that? He belongs with people like me. You really need to take your head out of the clouds and see this."

Lucas felt his blood starting to boil. How could she say such things about Riley? If anything, she partly insulted him as well. He didn't belong with people like her. She was the type of person he tried to get away from, so why would he hang out with them? All they wanted was their way, and it didn't matter if it hurt others or not. Lucas opened his mouth to respond to Missy's comments, but Riley beat him to it.

"Missy, you don't know who I am, and you don't know who Lucas is, either. You may think you do, but you don't. All you see of me at school is when you decide I need some 'inspiration' from you. You don't bother to get to know me; you haven't for years. So who are you to judge me? Your words don't hurt me anymore, Missy… and I forgive you for everything that you've done."

The tall blonde stood in front of Riley, completely dumbfounded. Out of all the times she picked on Riley, she never said anything like that before, and it took her completely off guard. Both Riley and Lucas stayed where they were for a moment, then headed down the hallway towards their study hall. Lucas wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "I'm proud of you for the way you stood up to Missy."

A small smile came over her lips. "Thanks," she responded quietly.

Lucas stopped and looked into Riley's eyes and saw a bit of sadness in them. Once he saw this, he instantly knew what was wrong. "What Missy said did bother you, didn't it?"

Riley nodded. "Yeah it did. But I can't let Missy know that. If she knows that it doesn't bother me anymore, then there's no thrill in her teasing me anymore and she'll back off. Even though what she said does bother me, it doesn't bother me as much as it would have because I know you're there for me, and that you really care about me."

Lucas tucked a piece of hair behind Riley's ear. "That's my girl. Now, how about we head to study hall?"

Riley nodded in response, but they didn't get very far until someone else called out her name. The two of them turned to see two classmates heading their way. Riley's eyes narrowed ever so slightly when she saw who they were, Pam and Abi.

The two girls stopped in front of Riley, but their eyes kept drifting over to Lucas. "Hey Riley," Abi began. "We're going to have a couple's night over at my house this upcoming weekend, and we were wondering if you two wanted to join us."

Riley shook her head. "No thanks, not interested."

Both Pam's and Abi's eyes widened. "Why not?" Pam asked. "It's going to be so much fun! You'll love it!"

"Sorry, we already have plans. Now if you'll excuse us," she finished as her and Lucas headed into their study hall.

Once they were seated in their usual places, Lucas raised an eyebrow. "What was that all about?"

Riley let out a sigh as she began to explain Pam and Abi. "Those two used to be my friends. However over the years, I began to learn that they were only nice to me because I had something that they wanted, whether it be kindness, homework, or something else, I was their person to get it from. They were nicer when we first became friends, but for all I know it was a façade."

Lucas nodded as he listened. "It might have been. And you don't need people like that in your life."

"That's for sure. I'm quite content on who I'm friends with right now," she said, flashing one of her smiles that Lucas loved so much.

_**A/N #2: Hope that will tie you over until Friday! Until then, lovelies :) **_


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N: And now I present to you, dear readers, the final chapter of Broken Wings. Thank you to all who helped make this story a success for me. It was a great ride.**_

*One Month Later*

Thanks to her parents going on their date night tonight, Riley was stuck at home watching Auggie for the night. The bright side? Auggie was in bed for the night, and her parents trusted Riley enough to allow Lucas to come over as well.

The night had gone over surprisingly well. Riley thought for sure that Auggie would not like having Lucas over, but she was proven wrong. Auggie enjoyed having another man in the house, and they got along quite well. It made Riley's heart melt a little when she saw the two interact.

Currently, both Lucas and Riley were cuddling on the couch and listening to some music that was playing from one of Riley's Pandora stations. The young couple didn't say much for a while; all they were doing was focusing on each other's breathing. The steady pattern of his breathing and the rhythm of Lucas' heart beating started to lull Riley to sleep, but an upbeat song began to play causing her energy levels to rise again.

After the first few bars of the song played, Lucas found himself tapping his foot to the beat of the music and gently swaying his head.

Riley looked up at him and smiled. "Interested in this song, are you?"

Lucas shrugged. "Not really, actually. I was just thinking about the beat of it."

"And that would be… what, exactly?" she dragged out.

"Eh, nothing really. I was just thinking that the beat of it would make it great to swing dance to. Haven't done any of that in a long time."

Riley gave him another smile and let out a sigh. "It sounds like fun!"

Lucas nodded. "It sure was…" he replied, dragging out his sentence slightly as an idea entered his mind. "How about it?"

She raised an eyebrow as she straightened her posture. "How about what?"

"How about we swing dance?"

A nervous expression came over Riley's face as she shifted to look at Lucas. "I don't even know how to. Sure, I've always wanted to try but…"

Lucas took her hands in his. "I can teach you. Please?"

Riley looked into his eyes, and agreed. "Okay. But if I step on your toes, don't blame me."

He chuckled as a huge smile spread over his lips. "Alright. Now, the first thing we need is a bit more space," he began as he started to move the coffee table towards the wall. Riley followed his lead and began to push the arm chairs away, giving them plenty of space in the center of the living room.

Lucas restarted the song, and then gently took ahold of Riley's hands. "Okay, the main hold is not tight, that way we can transition into different turns and spins. After I show you the main step, you should just be able to follow my lead without any issues. Sound good to you?"

Riley nodded as her heart rate began to escalate.

"Alright. Now, watch at what I do with my feet. For you, you're going to step in place with your right foot, then your left, then touch your right toe behind your left heel, step in place with your left foot, then back to the original position with your right foot. Okay, let's try picking up the pace a little bit."

Despite having it explained to her, Riley found her eyes glued to their feet as their pace increased with the beat of the music.

After a couple more bars, Lucas spoke again. "Look up!"

Riley did as she was told, and found herself grinning more than usual.

"Ready for some turns?"

She nodded and followed Lucas' subtle arm movements as she turned out and back into his arms, then around him, and then back to the main step.

"How comfortable are you with some jumps?"

Riley's eyes widened once she heard the word 'jumps'. "Uh… I don't know?"

"I know a couple of easy ones. Hip check and bridal carry."

"Okay," she agreed, trying to sound confident in her dance partner. But in all honesty, she was more anxious that she'd mess up.

Lucas smiled. "Let's start with hip check. First, you spin out," he began, sending Riley to his right. "Then, you run in, tuck your knees in, and land on my hip. Sound simple enough?"

Riley shrugged nervously. "Guess we'll find out," she replied, and then did exactly what Lucas explained, wrapping her arms around his neck once he braced her with his own.

"Like that?" she asked.

"Exactly like that," he replied as he set Riley down and began the main steps once again. "I think you're ready for bridal carry. It's sort of the same beginning, except this time you jump into my arms. Ready?"

She nodded as he spun her out once again. Riley ran and jumped as high as she could, landing in his strong arms. However, she expected the move to be over once she had landed, but found Lucas spinning the both of them. As this happened, Riley strengthened her hold around his neck to make sure she wouldn't fall. Once Lucas stopped turning, he lowered one of his arms, and Riley gracefully stepped out of the hold.

As the final notes played, Lucas spun Riley out, and then turned her into his arms. Riley completed the turn just as the final beat played, just as if the two had planned it far in advance.

The two teens stayed in this position, both trying to catch their breaths as they looked into each other's eyes. They both seemed to get lost in each other's gaze, and then Riley saw something in Lucas' eyes that made her excited and scared at the same time. Then, he said something that she never would have expected to hear from any guy ever.

"Riley Matthews, do I have your permission to kiss you?"

Once the words left his mouth, Riley felt her knees go weak. Luckily, Lucas was supporting her, so she didn't slip down to the ground. _Is this really happening?_ she thought, the words repeating in her mind.

What seemed to take an eternity for her, she finally found the words to reply. "You may."

Both of them closed their eyes as Lucas leaned in for the kiss. When their lips met, an explosion of unknown emotions engulfed Riley's heart. It was somewhat overpowering, but she loved the feeling.

For the first time in years, Riley felt wanted. No longer did she feel like she was a bother to people. No matter what happened in life, she wasn't a bother. If technology got in the way of communication, she knew that she was still going to be cared about.

Why it took her so long for her to figure that out, Riley will never know. But the most important thing is that she knows now.

_**A/N #2: And there it is. Thanks again all! I probably won't be publishing another multichapter for a while yet; I don't really have the time to start another one despite all the ideas I have floating about in my head. With any luck, I'll post a few one shots if I can find some time :) Also, keep your eyes out for a special project that I'm involved in coming in the near future! ~cowgirlangel95 out!**_

_*****update: So far there have been a couple of people asking for a sequel. If you would like me to write one, please feel free to submit any ideas that you would like to see. I can't guarantee when it would be posted due to college coursework and trying to find time to work on my other ideas, but I will do my best :)**_


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